You Should Have Lied
by The Pris
Summary: "Brooke..." Peyton began, only to stop when Brooke shook her head in protest, angry tears in her eyes. "No," Brooke said as she looked Peyton in the eyes. Hazel meeting bright green. "You tore my world down." The brunette accused. "You could have lied."
1. Part I

**Author**: The Pris

**Rating: **T/PG-13

**Title:** You Should Have Lied.

**Disclaimer:** I own _**nothing **_to do with One Tree Hill. If I had been in charge: Peyton would still be the fearless girl she was in the beginning of season one, season two, and beginning of season three. Lucas would have realized that he wasn't just the guy for Brooke Davis, but _she _was the girl for _him. _Rachel would still be there raising hell instead of being the _utterly _creepy wife/ ex-wife/ whatever-the-hell-she-is of the brother-killing-asshole named Dan. And Julian would've remained to be a kinda cool character instead of Peyton's leftovers that the writers threw at Brooke, as if that made everything _Pucas _did alright. Also, Peyton and Lucas just would have never happened. Maybe long enough to prove to everyone just how bad they were together, but I surely wouldn't have completely ignored how many people's hearts they destroyed on their journey to end up with each other. So I do not own One Tree Hill and, _if_ you thought I did, then I'm insulted because there is no way I ever would have been able to write the complete crap that is known as season four and up – even though I no longer have to put up with Pucas and all of their true love always blah blah blah BS.

**AN: **At the beginning of each chapter, there are going to be some lyrics and they're all from the song _You Should Have Lied _by _Stephanie McIntosh_. They're not going to be placed in order, and they _are _a little depressing, but they were the inspiration for this story. Anyway, with what I want to write, it will probably end up being a two-shot. & it is about the BLP love-triangle and all of the confrontations that _should _have happened and truths that _should _have come out at some point.

* * *

_It doesn't matter that you had the courage to tell me._

_The easy way out was to free up your guilt, laid it on me._

_What do I care? If it didn't really mean a thing… why'd you do it?_

_I'm standing here, looking at someone who doesn't know they blew it._

Watching as Victoria Davis walked out of the boutique once again; Brooke had to sigh as she sat down in her chair and stared at the sketchbook where she was expected to draw some of her best work for her company. **Her** company. Clothes over Bros was officially her company again. And, while she was still in business with her mother as she had been before, this time she had 51% ownership.

Clothes over Bros was truly hers.

Yet the fashion icon did not feel the exhilaration she had expected to feel. For weeks after she had signed over her company to Victoria, Brooke had wondered what the hell she had been thinking when she signed the company – the one she had worked so hard for, sacrificing love and friendships for – over to the evil bitch mother that she had been cursed with. There had even been days where she had yearned to have her company back because she had thought it would make her happy. She had thought it would give her a sense of purpose but, now that she had it back, the girl who had previously been called Cheery did not feel the happiness that she had expected. Considering she had just gotten her life's dream back, she felt burdened and void of any fraction of happiness she had predicted.

Maybe it was because she had been honest when she had faced her attacker all of those weeks ago, telling him that she was not the same girl from the night he had broken into her store. That optimistic, cheery girl had died the moment she had been attacked and had only continued to fade as she fought the darkness on her own, leaving behind a new, _realistic _Brooke Davis.

And no one, not even Brooke Davis herself, could lie and say that the attack hadn't changed her, because it had. Afterwards she had been angry and bitter and just unfeeling when it came to everything and everyone in her life, and it was all because her entire world had crashed down around her in one night. It had morphed her into a person that she had barely recognized. The girl who had once believed in destiny and love had changed into a woman who believed in revenge and justice.

Her beliefs changing hadn't been all that surprising, though. It had been a transformation that had slowly been taking place since the fashion icon's heart had been broken all of those years ago. The heart that resided in her chest, still beating, had been broken countless times over the years and it was somewhat amazing that she had held onto her faith as long as she had.

For her heart was one that had been broken multiple times. It had been broken by her parents – by a mother who had never really wanted her in the first place, and by a father who didn't care about her in the slightest unless she could somehow help him advance in his career or life – who had done nothing but throw cash at her and send her on her way. Neither had ever bothered to _listen _to the words her sad hazel orbs had been sending their way, and neither of them had bothered to get to _know _her.

And then there were the two blondes, Peyton and Lucas.

They were two of her best friends but even _they _didn't really know her, for they had shattered her heart in ways that they still didn't know or understand. Neither of them had ever realized just how much they had caused her by being together and, even worst, when they _hadn't _been together.

Peyton and Lucas were a story all on their own.

And it was one that didn't really matter, not anymore. All of those past hurts had slowly healed over the years until the wounds were bandaged up and invisible to all of those looking at her. But those hurts weren't gone. Just because they had healed didn't mean that scars hadn't remained. They were all that was left of the old Brooke Davis. She was _gone_.

Yet that Brooke Davis – the one that had believed in destiny and love and hadn't yet had her heart broken by all of those she loved – had almost managed to make a reappearance. Julian Baker had done all that he could to repair the broken-hearted girl during that fantastic month he had spent with her. And he had done a good job of it, too. Dimples had indented her smile more often, her hazel orbs had glittered with life, her laughter had seemed that much brighter and she had almost been _that _girl again.

And, for a while, she had been able to pretend that she was.

During that month, in her own eyes and in the eyes of most of her friends, Brooke had almost turned back into the same girl that she had been during the early months of her senior year. Happy. Entertaining. Cheerful. And a bit crazy. It was almost as if she had been transported back to a time where she was the bubbly cheer-captain that was happy and in love with Lucas Scott.

Brooke frowned as that thought crossed her mind, absently allowing one of her hands to lead her pencil across the page, its gentle movements slowly turning what had appeared to be accidental lines into a design as she got caught up in the past. Julian had told her that he loved her and proceeded to ask if she was still in love with Lucas Scott, and she had said no. it was the truth, too. She no longer loved the brooder and Lucas Scott hadn't been the center of her universe in years.

But that didn't change the fact that she had once loved him than she had ever thought she could, nor did it couldn't change the fact that it had always been the two blondes that had been meant to be together, and it didn't change the fact that it had been Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer who had slowly pricked away at her heart until she was a ghost of the person she had once been.

It was the two blondes and the past that had haunted her, and it had been that very fact that had sent the brunette running. She had been unable to bear her hometown and the memories it possessed, and LA had quickly become just as bad when she had moved there after high school with Peyton. They had tried to pretend that everything was the same, but it hadn't been. Ghosts in the forms of memories and awkward silences had haunted her and Brooke had ended up fleeing to New York.

It had been in New York that she had mended some of the damage they had caused.

It had been in New York that she had discovered dreams of her own, dreams that hadn't involved Peyton _or _Lucas.

And it was during her time away from the two of them that she had managed to build up a new life of her own. She had been in New York and no one had known about the pain she had endured, instead she had simply been known as one of the most thriving fashion designers to erupt in past years. Her designs had been full of spunk and she had quickly built up the fashion line she had dreamed of since childhood with the help of Victoria, plus she had been living with Rachel. Her friend had quickly agreed to be the face of Clothes over Bros and, for a time, Brooke had managed to pretend that it was everything she wanted. She had put all of her effort into her company and trying to build a relationship with her mother, all the while enjoying the fact that she was hot, young, and on the verge of fame by partying with Rachel.

And then everything had fallen apart.

Victoria had started taking over the company and while Brooke had been focused on her company she had lost sight of her friendship with Rachel, and before she had known what was happening the redhead had turned to drugs as a way of making her feel. She had been unable to help her friend, but then she had received a phone call from Peyton. The tortured artist had been lost and Brooke had known that she _could _help Peyton, and that's when she had found herself sucked back into the world of drama all over again.

Brooke had moved back to her hometown and had been a shoulder for the blonde to lean on, which had led to two things: she had found the family that she had truly needed to make her happy and it had led to the complete destruction of the faux-relationship that she had built with her mother. Being surrounded by her Naley plus one, she had realised how _messed up _her situation with Victoria was and she had fired her. She had fired her mother because it had been unhealthy.

And now she was once again diving into that destructive mess all over again by agreeing to work with Victoria.

The mess that she had been able to free herself from had once again drifted back into her life.

It was as if there was no escape from it.

Yet the contract with her mother didn't really bother her because she wasn't naïve enough to believe that she and her mother would miraculous form a real relationship. That dream had faded. It was simply business, but the thing that bothered the fashion icon the most was the fact that people had known she would end up helping her evil bitch mother long before she had reached the decision.

_You always sacrifice to help everybody else. That__'__s why we love you._

That was what Peyton, her best friend since the age of eight, had told her earlier. Peyton had said that the brunette always sacrificed the things that she wanted for everyone else. And those simple words had held such an honest truth, that it had troubled Brooke all day, ever since the blonde had spoken them. The honesty that had rang in those words had felt like a sucker punch to the gut and they had been taunting Brooke ever since she had left the brooder's childhood home, walking off aimlessly as she tried to ignore the bitter taste those words had left in their wake.

Brooke had mulled over that comment for hours until she had given consideration to every possible outcome. Her instincts were telling her to tell Victoria to go screw herself, despite what the artist had told her, but she didn't know what would happen to her conscience if she allowed all of those people to suffer because of her hatred for Victoria. And then there had been the _"obvious answer" _– the scenario where she agreed with Victoria, despite what it would surely do to her sanity level, and that had been the option that she had gone with.

She had thought every possible result to the ground, literally pondering the situation for hours on end, to the point that Brooke was pretty sure that some could have argued that she had been being broody.

The truthful observation had left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that she couldn't get rid of. She had simply went to Peyton, looking for a little bit of help, because all she needed was for someone to _tell _her what she should do about the new situation she had with her mother. That had been her answer; Peyton telling the fashion icon what she _would _do, not what she _should _do. The words had been ringing in her ears all day – mocking her.

Somehow, Peyton had known what it was that Brooke _would _do long before the brunette had. Brooke Davis would go back to the company and help all of those people regardless of her personal hatred for Victoria Davis, because she _always _gave up what she wanted for others.

No matter what the personal cost was to her, it seemed as though the brunette always put her own happiness and feelings on the line for everyone else – no matter who it was for. Whether it was for someone she loved, such as her beloved P Sawyer and Tutor-Girl, or even if it was the one person she hated above all others, Victoria Davis.

_Sacrifice_. Just upon hearing the simple word, there were several instances that popped into her mind instantly when she thought of the sacrifices she had made over the years. The most recent one being the one that had occurred not even an hour ago, when she had agreed to go back to the company and work with her mother, but there had been many before that.

There had been the time when she had done the favor of taking in a foster child, despite the emotional pain she had been suffering through because of her attack, and it had been simply because she friend Haley had asked her too. Accepting Sam into her home had turned out to be one of the best things to ever happen to Brooke, even though she hadn't known it at the time, but it didn't change the fact that she had done it in the first place _for _Haley James-Scott.

That hadn't been the only time that Brooke had put her adored Tutor-Girl above herself, either. Back in high school, the former cheer-captain had painted on a fake smile so Haley could have the wedding of her dreams, despite the fact that she had learned that very day that both Lucas and Peyton had gone behind her back - _again_. Ever after that, when the brunette had been trying to mend her broken heart, she had pretended to be the one that was pregnant because the former tutor hadn't been ready for others to know that it was really her.

Then there was the angsty blonde, better known as P Sawyer.

Brooke scoffed. It was ironic that it had been Peyton to point out the fact that the fashion icon generally sacrificed her feelings for others, because it had been the former bleach-blonde that the former cheer-captain had sacrificed the most for. Hell, the hazel-eyed fashionista couldn't even count on two hands the number of times she had sacrificed herself for her best friend.

That simple comment, which had been the soon-to-be mother's idea of advice, had really been so much than that. The words had held much more than the simple advice that Brooke had asked for - it had held the truth.

It had been the angsty woman's unintentional way of reminding the fashion icon that _she _was the reason that Peyton had everything she had ever wanted; Brooke was the reason that Peyton had gotten everything that the brunette had ever wanted for herself. Though she tried not to think about it, the owner of Redbedroom Records was essentially living the life that the fashionista had once dreamed up for herself.

Peyton Sawyer was pregnant, only mere weeks from having a child of her own, and to sweeten the pot, the former bleach-blonde held the heart of one of the boys that they had both loved: _Lucas Scott_.

And the real kicker? Brooke was pretty sure that Peyton hadn't even noticed.

Not that the brunette was bitter about it, she was happy with the life that she led and she was happy for both Lucas and Peyton, Brooke just wished that she could have a baby of her own. But she now had Sam.

She wasn't alone.

She had her Sam, her Naley, and her beloved Godson, not to mention that she had both Mouth and Millicent who loved dearly and they all made up her family. Her family…the fashion icon was pretty sure that the two tortured blondes fitted into her family somewhere, she _knew _they did.

Regardless of having all of those people in her life, the fashionista yearned to have a traditional family of her own to go home to at night. That was her dream; a dream that she'd had since high school.

Actually, back in high school there had been many nights where the cheery brunette had found herself wishing and praying to every deity that existed that she _was _pregnant, that they were more than simple scares. Getting pregnant in high school was in no way ideal, even though Nathan and Haley had somehow managed to make it work, Brooke had wanted nothing more than for her pregnancy test to be positive. If only for the solitary reason that it would give her a piece of Lucas to have with her forever, a piece of the brooder that was _hers _and hers alone.

Maybe it was because the fashion icon had always known subconsciously that it would be Peyton and Lucas that would end up together in the end. It had been an inevitable outcome with the choices that the three of them had made, but the three of them had just tried to ignore the fact that the two blondes had an obvious attraction to each other for reasons that Brook _still _did not know or understand.

Their struggle had been completely pointless though. No matter how hard they had tried to ignore it, to _bury _the love-triangle of drama, it had always come back up and the outcome had been inevitable. After all, the two blondes were an example of 'true love always.'

Even to this day, that did not make the truths any easier on Brooke. In the end though, she knew that it had been her to end things with the brooder senior year and it had been she that had pushed the two blondes together in the first place, but it had been her way of trying to save what little of her heart that had thus far remained unscathed. Sadly, it hadn't been much to protect.

"What are you thinking about, Davis BP?"

Brooke jumped at the sound of the sudden voice as she whirled around from where she was sitting at her desk, her pencil falling out of her hands as she looked up at the door. Although she was thankful for the distraction, it saved her mind from her depressing thoughts as they were instantly thrown back into the vault. Sadly though, while her creative juices were deviated away from the designs that she had been sketching for her new line.

_Her new line_. The line that would save the company that the fashion icon had worked so hard to build, all the while helping all of the people that had worked for Brooke…and Victoria. Not that the brunette was at all worried about the botoxed vampiress. The older Davis woman could rot in hell for all Brooke cared.

"Peyton?" Brooke questioned in surprise as she looked up and saw her lifelong best friend standing in the door of the boutique, her expression unreadable to the brunette. When had they drifted so far apart that they couldn't read each other anymore?

Peyton offered a small wave, struggling to keep her small smile on her face, trying to ignore how her best friend had jumped at the sound of her voice.

Despite the brave face that she put on for everyone, there were obvious changes in the brunette that Peyton _had _noticed over the past few months. The jumping was one of them. Whenever there was a sudden bang or loud noise, the fashion icon would tense up and she had been like that since she had been attacked in her store all of those months ago. It seemed as though the former cheer-captain still hadn't gotten a hold of her nerves.

But the strawberry blonde didn't feel the need to bring the topic up with Brooke. It was more than obvious that the fashion icon didn't want to talk about it - why else wouldn't she bring it up? Brooke wanted to work through it on her own, and Peyton respected her enough to go along with that.

It was funny how wrong you could be about someone, especially when that someone was your best friend.

"So, I was right?" Peyton questioned as she pushed her thoughts from her mind and walked over to view the brunette's latest designs, her hands resting comfortably on her baby bump. "You _did _decide to help all of those people and Bitchtoria."

Brooke merely shrugged as she looked down at the designs she had been absently sketching, gently taking them from her best friend as she placed the stray pieces of paper into a pile; a determined glint in her eyes as she sighed.

"Of course I did, P Sawyer." Brooke said easily, a bitter, almost mocking tone in her voice as she went on to quote her best friend's words from earlier that day. "I _always _sacrifice myself to help everybody else," hazel-eyes rolled in annoyance, "it's _why_ you all love me."

Peyton's eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of her forehead, her lips pursed together, as she tried to analyze the fashionista's tone. _Bitterness_; it was a tone that the strawberry blonde wasn't used to hearing, not from her best friend. Though she had grown up a lot since high school, the brunette's typically cheery attitude had been one of the few things that had remained.

_This _was new. Peyton had no idea how to handle an angsty Brooke Davis.

"Brooke…" she began as her lips were pulled down into a frown, the puckered lips marring her features as she walked over to her best friend; taking in the brunette's stiff posture and narrowed eyes. "Brooke," Peyton repeated, her voice a little more stern as she gripped her friend's arm and turned her to face her, the frown never leaving her features. "Hey, what's wrong, ?"

Just like many times before, Brooke felt the sudden urge to rip herself from her best friend's arms and yell _"everything!" _at the top of her lungs. Because, in truth, that was how she truly felt on most days. Which did not make sense in the least.

With all of the success that she'd had and such, the fashion icon _knew _that it was wrong, not to mention selfish of her, to be this unhappy. Especially since, she had _almost _everything that she had ever wanted, but she could never shake the feeling - no matter what she did.

She wouldn't tell anyone that though, all of her friends had enough problems of their own. Especially the one who was standing in front of her, suffering from a difficult pregnancy. So, instead of burdening Peyton with all of her problems, the brunette plastered a fake smile on her face and looked into Peyton's green eyes, placing a comforting hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Nothing is wrong, P Sawyer." Brooke insisted, trying to ignore how her friend was looking imploringly into her eyes, as if the two of them were still close enough to _know _how the other was feeling. But they weren't. "I'm, um, just tired. Dealing with Bitchtoria can do that to a person, but don't worry - I'm used to it. I'm fine."

The label owner fought the urge to scoff in disbelief if she watched the fashionista walk away from her, scurrying to the other of the room to collect what seemed like random pieces of papers and pencils. Peyton knew that her best friend was simply trying to avoid this conversation. There was something else bothering the brunette and Peyton was _determined _to find out what it was.

"Right," the tortured artist drawled, shaking her head in disbelief, "now, why don't I believe you?"

"Because you've been locked up in your house for _days _and now you're looking for some juicy piece of gossip for you to mull over once your broody soon-to-be-husband shows up and drags your skinny, but pregnant, ass home."

For its context, it was a true Brooke-comment but because of the tone, all Peyton could do in response was arch one of her delicate eyebrows as her emerald-green eyes continued to travel along her best friend's back.

"And I know you're doing your little stare thing you do, hoping that I'll give in and tell you what's wrong," Brooke continued as she threw random items into her purse, still refusing to look at her best friend. "But for that to happen, there would actually have to be something wrong and there _isn__'__t. _So your pregnant ass can go search for drama elsewhere."

"Brooke…"

"And actually, where _is _your soon-to-be-husband?" Brooke asked as she turned to look at Peyton with raised eyebrows before turning away from Peyton's protective gaze. "You know I hate doing this, but you're getting on my last nerve. So, P Sawyer, unless you want me to _call _Lucas and tell him where you are - assuming you didn't call to inform him that you were leaving the house, I would let it go because I _don__'__t _want to talk about it!"

"So you're admitting that there _is _something to talk about!"

"Peyton!" The brunette finally snapped as she whirled around, an intense fire dancing in her hazel orbs as she glared at the woman she had been friends with for years. Everyone had their limit, and the fashionista had just reached hers. "Look, you know I love you, but can we _not _go there? _Please_?"

If she had expected the soon-to-be-Scott to drop by, then Brooke never would have allowed her thoughts to drift off to those _usually _forbidden part of her mind. Since she hadn't been prepared for the sudden appearance of her friend, her walls hadn't been put back up and they needed to be before she could face her best friend. Otherwise, something that she had _never _intended on telling Peyton would slip out.

After all, everyone had dark secrets that they couldn't share with anyone, mainly because they weren't meant to leave the restricted part of your mind. There were things you couldn't share, not even with your best friend; _especially_ not with your best friend.

Brooke had always known that, it was Peyton that had not.

As quickly as that thought had appeared in her mind, the brunette instantly discarded it and removed those thoughts from her mind. She would never have the heart to say that to Peyton, just as she would never tell her best friend about the night in New York that she and the brooder had shared several years ago. Peyton would never know of it because it would only succeed in breaking the angsty woman's heart.

"Brooke," Peyton said once again with a stern tone, one that someone would expect to hear coming from a mother as she scolded her child.

It was a tone that the brunette found herself _hating _more and more every time she heard it. The tone indicated that Peyton was ready to be a mother, and maybe she was, but it didn't erase the _bitterness _Brooke felt when she heard it.

"Sweetie, I am your best friend." Peyton pointed out, startling the fashion icon out of her thoughts, as she headed over towards her best friend. "I am always going to be here for you, so if you need me, you can come to me with _whatever _problems you have and I _will _listen - judgment free. You _know _that."

The funny thing was Brooke _didn't _know that.

"P Sawyer, I love you," Brooke groaned as she looked over at the strawberry blonde, an uncharacteristic frown strewn across her features. "But I just…I _really _don't want to talk about this right now. Okay?"

It was only in the confinement of her mind that the fashion icon could be honest and admit the truth to herself. There would never be a day where she would everwant to talk to Peyton about _this_. And she wouldn't, not if she had any say in the matter.

Peyton frowned. She had no idea what she was supposed to say to her best friend, nor did she know whether or not she should push the subject. As she studied Brooke, as though the brunette were a specimen in a jar, her frown deepened. There was a chance that forcing the brunette to talk about this - whatever _this _was - would cause Brooke to retract a little more into herself, as she had done after the attack, bulldozing all of the progress that Brooke had made since that frightful night. But there was a possibility that _not _talking about it could make it worst.

Confronting it was the most tedious task, one that was much more work than Peyton just letting the topic slide and opting for discussing a more comforting topic. On the other hand, the label owner could simply allow for an uncomfortable silence to form between the two of them, one that would signify that the two of them would _never _discuss what was bothering Brooke.

Then again, awkward silences shouldn't exist between best friends - should they?

Brooke relaxed for a minute upon seeing that her best friend seemed to be letting the topic go and went about throwing her remaining items in her purse, her left hand gripping her cell phone in a death grip. There was one way for all of this to be over. One simple action that would immediately get rid of the pregnant blonde. All the fashionista had to do was dial that familiar, yet _scarcely _used, phone numbed or Lucas Scott and the brooder would instantaneously be at her boutique to take Peyton back home.

After all, the author had always had a need to save Peyton, even when the strawberry hadn't really been in need of saving. That was irrelevant though. Whether Peyton needed saving or not did not change the fact that Lucas had an instinct buried deep inside himself when it came to saving his fiancée. And it was an instinct that he couldn't shut off.

The silence that had descended upon the two, the silence that the fashion icon had been relishing in, was shattered though when Peyton opened her mouth and allowed for her comment to slip through its barriers. Her words causing the brunette the pain equivalent to having a knife stabbed in her back, as Peyton failed to comply with her best friend's plead to drop the subject.

"I'll drop it on one condition, Brooke." Peyton whispered as she leaned up against her best friend's desk, her hand resting on her baby bump as she tried to stay as relaxed as possible. For both her _and _her baby. "If I let it go, will we _ever _talk about it?"

"Damn it, Peyton!" Brooke barked while her grip on her cell phone increased, her knuckles going white. "Why can't you just let it go?"

"Come on Brooke." Peyton pleaded as she looked at Brooke, tears gathering up in her eyes when she realized that Brooke didn't _trust _her enough to confide in her. "I am your friend; I am your _best _friend," she corrected. "We're supposed to talk about what's bothering you…and if you don't tell me what's wrong right now, I'll call Haley."

Brooke almost cracked a grin when she heard Peyton's threat. For some reason, the former tutor was someone that the brunette would prefer to talk to about this - about _everything_, actually. Haley had always been someone that she could confide in, and the young mother would tell the fashion icon how it was and what she should do. In addition, there was the added bonus that her beloved Tutor-Girl was not as involved in this issue, meaning Brooke would not have to risk shaking the foundations of their friendship.

Haley was an option. Peyton was not.

"You can't ignore this forever…whatever _this _is."

It was that final comment that had the brown-haired woman scowling in annoyance while a huff escaped her lips before she could stop it. And just like that, word vomit leaked out of Brooke's mouth and effectively opened the gates to her own personal hell. A personal hell that was much like a Jack-in-the-box, one that had been slammed shut years ago and never opened again.

"Well, I have managed to ignore it for five years," Brooke shrugged, the honest words spilling from her ruby lips before she could stop them. "I'm pretty sure that I can hold it in for a few more years until…oh, I don't know…until I'm on my death bed?"

"Just tell me what's wrong, Brooke!" Peyton pleaded before an unimpressed frown covered her face, her gaze criticizing. "And why don't you tell me why you're acting like such a Bi-polar bitch while you're at it."

"God, Peyton! You just don't know when to keep your comments and questions to yourself, do you?" Brooke accused, whirling around as she began to rant, gesturing wildly with her hands as she finally allowed her frustration to show. "You want to know what's bothering me. It's the fact that you were _right_! Are you happy, Peyton? You were right!"

Peyton merely frowned at the brunette's sudden outburst. "Is this about what I said earlier? The fact that you always sacrifice yourself for others?"

"No. the fact that I _do _sacrifice myself for others doesn't bother me at all, mainly because I'm _not _some selfish bitch, and I don't mind putting others before me." The brunette answered quickly, not bothering to hold back now. "What _does _bother me is the fact that you felt the need to remind me of the fact that I usually give up what _I _want for others. It's the fact that you felt the need to remind me of the fact that I once gave up what I wanted for _you_."

"Brooke-"

Nevertheless, there was no interrupting her now, the gate to her own hell had been opened and all of the pain she had kept bottled up inside came pouring out.

"And it's like you don't even _care _that I gave up what I wanted for you!" Brooke shouted as her body began shaking in rage. "As if senior year wasn't enough, you came to my house all excited about being pregnant and you didn't _think _about how that news would hurt me until you _saw _how devastated I was. I'm happy that you're pregnant and you and Lucas will have a family but you didn't _once _think about me, Peyton!"

"Brooke. I _told _you that you would have a big part in this baby's life!" Peyton screeched back. "And it's not _my _fault that I got pregnant. It wasn't something that we planned and I'm sorry that I was so happy to share the news with my _best friend _that I didn't think-"

"That's your problem, Peyton. You _never _think about how your news and clarities would affect _me_. You never think about how what you have to say could _hurt_ me."

"First of all Brooke, I don't understand how I'm hurting you." Peyton said in confusion as she frowned. "And if I ever did hurt you, you never said anything to me."

"I shouldn't have had to say _anything_, Peyton. There were times that you should have _known _that your words were going to hurt me. But like _always _you made yourself the victim and didn't think about anyone else."

"How have I hurt you?" Peyton questioned, both hurt and confusion in her voice.

Hurt and confusion; that was a dangerous combination. And the fashion icon was more than aware of the fact, but aside from that, she also knew that if she and Peyton were ever going to be how they had been before, then she had to get this off her chest.

"Besides lately?" Brooke scoffed, incredulity in her voice. "How about senior year when you only cared about your own feelings and told me about how you were in love with _Lucas _when he was _my _boyfriend. Something that I _know _neither of us has told Lucas."

Peyton blinked as those memories came flooding back to her. Suddenly she could see it all again - from Brooke calling her a two-faced bitch to Brooke bitch slapping her and ending their friendship. Things were different now; _they _were different now. All of that was in the past and they trusted each other now. Brooke was her _best _friend.

A disconcerting feeling settled in the pit of her stomach when she realized that she and the brunette had never really dealt with all of the things that had happened last night. The fashionista had cut Peyton out of her life, and the strawberry-blonde had later declared Brooke dead to her. And that had been that. Once they had gotten their friendship back on track, the two of them had never really talked about it again. They had buried the hatchet and have moved on.

Why the fashion icon felt the need to bring it all up again frustrated Peyton more than she could ever say. But more than that, it _scared _her. The last thing she wanted was to lose her best friend. Add frustration with hurt and confusion, and you got a damning force that could shake any foundations to the core; even the core of a life-long friendship.

"Brooke, I told you back then that I just wanted to be honest with you." Peyton cried as she threw her hands up in frustration. "I didn't want to make the same mistake as before. I wanted to be honest so I worked up the courage to tell you the _truth_."

"It doesn't matter that you were honest with me, Peyton." Brooke argued, shaking her head at how clueless her friend could be. "You had other motives for telling that you had feelings for Lucas and you _know _it."

Peyton winced at those words. Even though the brunette's tone did not hold any anger, it held all of the disappointment and heartbreak from back then. The fashion icon may have moved on from high school with age and the two of them may have fallen back into their friendship, but none of that meant that any of the pain had dissipated.

"You _knew _that you and Lucas together was my biggest fear the _entire _time we were together and yet you _still _decided to tell me that you _loved _him."

"I didn't want to go down the same road as the last time, Brooke." Peyton argued back as she looked up at her best friend with wide eyes, surprised that there were still things to be said. "I didn't know that you would break up with Luke."

Despite the fact that her words were meant to be reassuring, they were anything but. Because on some level, both she and Brooke knew that she was lying.

"I don't know why I told you but I wasn't the one that told you to break up with Lucas, Brooke." Peyton continued as her previous words began to sink in. "That was all you. All I did was _try _and be honest with you, and do you know what you did? You cut me out of your life!"

"Stop making yourself the damn victim, Peyton!" Brooke shouted as she shook her head at the words that were coming out of Peyton's mouth. "I cut you out of my life because I was _once _again betrayed by my best friend who promised again and again that she thought that Lucas and I could make it work a second time; the same best friend who _promised _me she wouldn't go after him again!"

_If Lucas and I couldn't make it as a couple before…what makes you think we can now?_

_For one thing I wouldn't make out with him this time._

"Brooke the fact that I promise that he _wouldn't _come between us was the reason that I _did _tell you when I realized how I felt because…" Peyton once again tried to argue.

"I'm not finished," Brooke interrupted as she took a deep breath. "I fully went into that relationship only when I knew that Lucas was in it for the long-haul and even then I waited to make sure that _you _were okay with it, Peyton! But despite all of that hell we went through you felt the need to drag it all back up _again _because you had the epiphany that you were in love with Lucas!"

"I was the one that felt the need to drag it back up?" Peyton asked incredulously as she looked at the brunette with an apprehensive gaze. "That's rich coming from you because you're the one that started this wonderful conversation in the first place!"

"Just because we all decide to support the Lucas and Peyton _true love always_ bandwagon does notchange the fact that the two of you smashed as many hearts as possible to get to where you are now. There was me, _twice, _and there was Julian and Lindsay and you know what? Probably Jake too. The one you wished for."

_I can't believe this is happening again…_

_I didn't wish for this, alright? I wished for Jake._

"Whoa!" Peyton yelled, her eyes widening as memories came flooding back to her about the single father that had stolen her heart back in high school. The boy that had loved her for her; flaws and all. Jake had seen the _real _Peyton Sawyer and had loved her for it and she had returned that act of kindness by saying that she loved _Lucas _in her sleep.

"What the two of you did was to free up all of the guilt you felt as a result of smashing hearts left, right and center." Brooke pointed out. "I mean, did you ever stop and think of what you must have done to Julian or Jake when you decided you loved Lucas? Did you ever stop and think about whether or not Lindsay was okay now?" Brooke questioned as her voice escalated with each question as her anger continued to rise. "Did you ever wonder how _I _felt knowing that _you_ were living the life that I had dreamed up for _me _during high school?"

"Brooke!" Peyton screamed as her heart ached when she realised how many hearts that she and Luke _had _smashed to get where they are now. The sad part was that they weren't just random strangers, they were people that each of them had loved at some point. "Wait a…"

"Just because it was the two of you that ended up together does not change what the two of you did along the way. In his book he talks about how he loves you and that's fine with me, by the time it was published I was _over _him…"

"And I was on your side when Lucas was with Lindsay even though I _knew _what she was going through. I knew what it was like to be in her place, feeling like you couldn't escape all of the whispers of _'what is Lucas doing with her?'_ and _'Lucas should be with Peyton.'_ I knew all of that but instead of comforting her I was comforting _you _and then you turned around and broke _her _heart."

Peyton swallowed as her eyes widened. She had known the moment that her best friend had allowed several snide comments to leave her mouth, that there was _no way _that all of this pent up anger had been about how she had been right. The fashion icon had already said that she had been keeping all of this in for the past five years. Ever since the strawberry blonde had confessed to her best friend about her true feelings for Lucas Scott, which had been the night that had rocked the foundations of their friendship until the two of them had simply walked away from each other. Now the repercussions of those actions were back to haunt her.

Because after over five years of holding it all in, Brooke Davis was finally letting it all out all of the hurt that she had kept to herself. The brunette was breaking down, spilling every dark secret that she had, and there was no way to stop her now or calm her down. Now the two of them would have to face their past, and hopefully, save their future.

But no matter what words were said there tonight between the two of them, there was no way that the fashionista would calm down until she let all of this out. All of the lies she had hid behind had been stripped away, and all Peyton could do was try and explain all of her actions.

She just prayed that it didn't destroy them.

"Brooke I…" Peyton trailed off, unable to decide where to start as the tears continued to swell up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. "I never meant to hurt anyone; _we _never meant to hurt anyone," she corrected as the need to defend her soon-to-be-husband, who was blissfully unaware of this fight, filled her entire being. "You _know _that I tried to move on from Lucas, I really did. _That's _why I fell in love with Julian. I really did love him, Brooke."

"You can't love someone _completely _though," Brooke gently reminded, "Not if you're holding onto someone else."

"I know that," Peyton sighed as she acknowledged the truth in those words as she thought them over. "And I'll admit that Julian's heart being broken was _my _fault. Okay? Does _that _make you happy? Because I'll scream it to the world if you want me to; if it'll make things better. In less than a five year period, I broke _five _hearts."

Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer had broken five hearts since her senior year of high school. She had broken the hearts of Jake Jagielski, Brooke Davis, Lucas Scott, Lindsay Strauss, and Julian Baker in five short years. During her last year of high school, she had broken Jake's heart when she had said _'I love you, Lucas' _in her sleep and she had broken her best friend's heart when she had become conscious of the truth that she was in love with the brooder that had been Brooke's _boyfriend _at the time. Then she had broken said brooder's hear when she had said _'someday' _to his proposal instead of yes, and she had broken Lindsay's heart when that annoying little time had gone off in her head; the one that had told her that she was still in love with Lucas. Finally, she had broken Julian's heart when she had failed to love him back the way that she should have. Five years and five different broken hearts. That _had _to be a record.

"But I can live with all of that, Brooke, because I know that I didn't mean to. And I know that it wasn't meant to be," the strawberry blonde continued, hoping that the brunette would understand. "It's like you said, Julian was the _rebound-guy_. And though I do care about him, I know that the two of us were _never _meant to be. Do you know _how _I know that? Because he fell in love with someone else. He fell in love with _you_; my beautiful, _beautiful _best friend."

Brooke simply shrugged. "What about Lindsay?"

Peyton narrowed her eyes at the brunette's question, anger building up in her core at the mere thought of the editor that had almost managed to steal Lucas away from her forever; she had tried to get in the way of their love. As far as she was concerned, Lindsay had gotten what was coming to her.

"She dug her own grave," the strawberry blonde said stubbornly, "she's the one that said no."

"So did you."

Peyton almost groaned in aggravation at those words as she rubbed her face with her manicured hands, not caring if she smudged her make-up in the least. Why wasn't her best friend getting what she was trying to say?

"I didn't say _no_," Peyton argued tightly, "I said _someday_ and by saying that, it didn't mean that I didn't want to be with Lucas. It meant that I wasn't ready back then, Brooke, we were _nineteen _for God's sake and I wasn't ready to get married. But if I had known that it would end Lucas and me? I would have said yes. Just because I failed in saying yes, that does not mean a thing, it doesn't change the fact that I wanted to be with him."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow at the rant; not at all moved.

But the strawberry blonde carried on with her explanation, desperate to get her best friend to see this all from her point of view. "That's why I said yes the second time, Brooke. I still wanted to be with him, but if I had needed to, I would have let Lucas move on and be happy with someone else."

"I would love to believe you right now, P Sawyer." Brooke said honestly as she sniffed, fighting the tears of frustration and hurt that were slowly building to the surface. "But if it didn't mean a thing, that makes it _that _much worst," the brunette revealed as she shook her head, "Because if Lucas moving on didn't mean a thing to you, if you could have let him move on, then why did you do it?" Brooke asked. "Why did you shatter _her _heart?"

Nevertheless, Peyton knew that Brooke was really asking '_why did you break my heart?'_

Peyton had no answer, though. She could not explain what she had been feeling that day when she had told Brooke that she still had feelings for Lucas; she honestly didn't know. _I don't know_. That had always been the response she had given to herself, and to Lucas when he had asked why the cheery brunette had broken up with him. The strawberry blonde had always claimed to be clueless, saying that she didn't know the reason.

However, if she dared to admit it, Peyton _did _know the real reason for Brooke's unexpected break-up with the tortured athlete, she just didn't want to admit it to herself. It all came down to one fact though; she and Brooke were polar opposites. Where the brunette would go out of her way to sacrifice herself for others, she went and did whatever it was that _she _wanted for herself.

Plain and simple? She had wanted Lucas to herself.

The green-eyed woman had seen how loving and considerate he was and she had wanted it - wanted _him _- for herself. After all, it had made all of the sense in the world for the two of them to be together. They had far more in common than Brooke and Lucas had ever had, or ever would, and then there was the fact that the brooding blonde had been in love with _her _since grade school. At least, he had been until he had fallen under Brooke Davis' spell.

Another reason that the once pixie-curled blonde hadn't told Lucas the truth about that night was because she had feared that it would have driven Lucas back into Brooke's arms. The fact that the brunette had broken up with Lucas in the first place was enough proof for Peyton to see that Brooke had understood the truth; that it was _Peyton _that Lucas was meant to be with. However, as Brooke had once said, the author had always had a habit of throwing himself at the wrong girl if he had trouble admitting whom he really loved.

And Peyton had loved Lucas far too much to risk that happening.

Brooke scoffed softly upon seeing the look on Peyton's face. This conversation hadn't changed anything for the strawberry blonde; it hadn't changed how Peyton felt nor had it changed how she viewed her actions. It _had _changed how the fashion icon felt though, she truly felt as though a thousand pounds had been lifted off her shoulders.

She no longer had to worry about snapping one day, releasing all of her buried emotions. It had already happened and she could barely _believe _how much lighter she felt after getting it all off her chest.

Even so, the fact that the strawberry blonde still looked as though she thought she hadn't done anything wrong made Brooke sick to her stomach. It also filled her with so many emotions that she didn't know how to deal with it. Peyton would _never _change.

That truth made the fashion icon's heart ache all of again. For five long years she had tried to be the bigger person; the grown up. She had known what Peyton had done, but she had still given her the chance to prove that she was a different person; a better person. However, all of her efforts now seemed pointless because, once again, Peyton Sawyer had blown it.

_I gave you a second chance Peyton, and you blew it._

And just like that night all those years ago when Peyton had confessed that she held feelings for the older Scott brother, Brooke found herself standing face-to-face with someone who had blown it. The only things that differed was the fact that the strawberry blonde didn't even have the decency to _pretend _to be sorry, nor did Peyton seem to realise that she had once again failed her best friend.

"What happened to us, Brooke?" Peyton whispered softly from her end of the room, her voice causing Brooke's head to snap up as hazel eyes met emerald-green. "What did I do wrong? We've been fine. Ever since the both of us moved back to Tree Hill together, we've been _fine_."

Brooke sighed sadly, knowing those words to be true. "I know."

"Then what the _hell_ happened between then and now?"

The brunette gawked at her supposed best friend with wide, disbelieving eyes. How was it that after _everything _that had been said that Peyton still didn't get it? The mere notion had fury building up in the petite brunette all over again.

"You weren't _there_, Peyton!" She screeched, her tone broadcasting all of her anger perfectly, causing the strawberry blonde to shrink back slightly as she looked at her best friend in pure confusion. "I was _so _happy for you and Lucas when I heart that the two of you were getting married, I really was. If I had been able to, I would have jumped for joy but I was just after being _attacked_, Peyton. And even you and Lucas came back, you weren't there! You actually _believed _me when I said that I had fallen down the stairs," she scoffed in incredulity, "were you _really _that blinded by _your _happiness to notice how broken I was?"

Peyton cringed. "I didn't know, Brooke! You never told me that you had been attacked, and I _was _there for you when you finally told me the truth."

"One night," Brooke growled as she shook her head, her entire body quivering with rage. "That's _all _you spent with me when I told you the truth. One night of baking cookies and you _honestly _thought that it would make everything all better?"

"You never said anything, Brooke!"

"I shouldn't have _had _to say anything, Peyton! You were my best friend!"

Brooke was right; she _should _have known that her best friend wasn't as okay as she tried to make herself appear. With that realization, Peyton sucked in a deep breath and wished that she could go back and change it. She shouldn't have waited for the brunette to say anything, and to be honest, there were many nights that the soon-to-be-Scott had wondered whether or not her best friend had been dealing with everything. But she had never asked because Brooke had appeared to be _fine_.

"What would you have had me done differently?" Peyton begged to know as she looked up at Brooke. "Tell me what I have to do to fix this, Brooke. Tell me what I should have done differently."

"You should have lied," that was Brooke's simple response as she looked away from her friend's beseeching eyes.

"What?"

"You should have lied, Peyton," the brunette yelled as she looked back up to stare her lifelong friend in the eyes. "What you said back then, that stupid mistake of yours that destroyed our friendship, you shouldn't have said it!" She seethed, "all you cared about was _your _heart and _your _feelings. But did you ever stop and think that maybe _I _had a heart? Did you ever wonder if your words would cause _my _world crash down around me?"

"Of course I did, Brooke. I _did _think about your feelings and how everything would affect you - _that's _why I told you how I felt." Peyton yelled for the millionth time, unable to believe that she was still _not _getting through to her friend. "How many times am I going to have to tell you that I did it for _you_? All I did back then, all the things I said, was because I didn't want to break your heart and I wanted to be honest…"

"Stop spinning at _bullshit _with me, Peyton." Brooke screeched as she once again walked around the store, doubling checking that she had everything she needed before she tried to make her fast escape. "You did it for _you _and you know it, so stop trying to lie in order to make yourself feel better."

"That's no why…"

Brooke cut her off before the sentence even left her lips. "Yes it is."

"Brooke!"

"You confessed, Peyton, you told me how you really felt and you can't take it back. So if you want to do something for _me_, then stop trying to spin all of that nonsense, okay, Peyton? Because I've learned to live with the truth, why can't you do the same thing?"

"Because it's not the truth, Brooke." Peyton disputed before back-tracking upon seeing the brunette's angered look. "Okay, _maybe _it was, but I…I know that I can't take back any of the things that I said and I know that what I said back then was wrong; that I should have kept it to myself." She sighed, "But Brooke, I wanted to be honest with you."

"Oh. My. God." Brooke murmured as she stared at Peyton, her eyes wide with astonishment. "What the hell happened to you? My _best friend_, the Peyton Sawyer I _used _to know, would have accepted the truth for what it was instead of doing…_this _and acting like she did nothing wrong. She used to be fearless. What happened to _her_?"

_I was fearless then, Brooke._

_So what happened to that girl?_

Peyton sighed. "I don't know what happened to her."

That hadn't been the answer that the brunette had wanted to hear. If the strawberry blonde had been able to come up with explanations for everything else, why couldn't she answer the one question that the fashion icon so desperately wanted answered? On her own, she couldn't understand how the Peyton she used to build snow forts with had turned into this woman in front of her.

After all, there was no way that Peyton Sawyer could be both of those girls. She couldn't be the cheerless girl that had spent all of her time hanging out with her best friends, swearing to always have her back, and the cold woman that had unknowingly hurt everyone in her path to get what she wanted. They were so different that it was impossible for them to coexist.

It was on or the other - right?

"Brooke…"

"I have another question." Brooke interrupted, a frown on her face. "Did you _really _do it so you could be honest with me?"

Peyton nodded. But it was a lie, and they both knew it.

Brooke scoffed. "Let's say you did, and I'm not saying that I believe you, because I don't. But for arguments sake, let's say you _did _do it for me and not for yourself." She sighed, "If that really _was _the case, I hate to break it to you, but honesty blew it this time."

"What do you mean? I…"

"I didn't want your _honesty_, Peyton, I wanted your _love_." The fashion icon said simply, her tone holding nothing but disappointment. "As my best friend, you should have loved me enough to keep your mouth shut."

"How was I supposed to know that? We agreed that we weren't going to let another boy come between us again, Brooke, remember?"

"But it wasn't another boy, was it?" The brunette scowled. "It was the _same _boy."

_We can't survive one boy?_

_Not one boy, Peyton; my boy._

Peyton sighed in frustration, feeling as though the two of them were going around in circles. "That may be, but you can't fight love, ya know? And we said that we could find love as long as we didn't forget about our hoes." A shadow of a smile crossed her face at that memory, "and that's why I told you the truth. You may not believe it, but I remembered the promises I may to you and I was trying to keep them."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "How about your promise to _not _make out with Lucas again? That one didn't really work out all that well, did it? Because if memory serves me correctly, _you _were making out with _Lucas _on the day of the shooting in that damn library, Peyton!"

"It wasn't like that. You weren't…"

"Damn it," Brooke growled, "I am so sick of being penalized for not being there that day. I may not have been inside that building, but _everyone _I loved was in that school, Peyton. I was the one that was alone that day - _not _you. Haley was in the tutor center and she had Skills and Nathan; you had Lucas…but I was alone and worried about my friends. Little did I know, you were too busy trying to shove your tongue down Lucas' throat to give a damn about that. And you didn't even have the guts to tell me to my face."

"I didn't…"

"No, Peyton. If there was _ever _a time that you should have been honest with me, it was that day. When I came to your house and told you that I was sorry for leaving you behind, when you claimed that you were busy thinking about how _I _got out of there, that would have been the time for you to tell me the truth; that was when I should have found out about that kiss." Brooke steeled her gaze, "not later on by _accident_."

"How was I…?"

"The only reason I ever found out about that kiss is because Lucas assumed that I was mad at you that day _because _I found out about the kiss; not because I had found out that you were in love with him. That was when I deserved your honesty," she crossed her arms, "if you weren't going to tell me about the kiss, you should have kept your mouth shut. Other than that, you should have lied. You _could _have lied."

"For a while, I had wished that I _had _lied, Brooke." Peyton admitted, wincing a little when she thought back to how broken her best friend had looked back then. "I saw the pain you were going through and I even tried to help Luke win you back. I pushed aside my feelings and tried to help him out but you…"

Brooke chuckled bitterly. "You honestly thought _that _would have helped? That only made me push Lucas away _further_. And do you know why? Because every time I _fucking _turned around, I say the two of you together, Peyton."

"Fine," the strawberry blonde gritted out. "Maybe I was the one that led to the downfall of you and Lucas; maybe I got in the way of you two. But I have a better question, Brooke. Why the hell are you bringing this up _now_; how after you fell in love again and no longer love Luke? Why are you bringing it up now that I'm _marrying _him? Why would you tell me how you felt _now_?"

"Because you _asked_."

The truth in those words forced the pain and guilt to suffocate the strawberry blonde as she witnessed several tears falling from her best friend's eyes; one after the other. What Brooke was saying was true. Peyton had _begged _for the fashionista to tell her the truth, to tell her how she _really _felt, and now that she had, Peyton almost wished that she hadn't asked.

"If I had known back then… I can't say I would have done anything different, Brooke."

And she felt no blame in admitting that. Peyton knew deep down that she and the brooding author would have ended up together anyway; her actions had not affected the ending. She knew it had only been a matter of time before something occurred to push them together romantically. After all, Lucas had always been saving her.

That had to be a sign - right?

The soon-to-be-Scott sighed. "If I had kept that secret, I would have _died_, Brooke."

"Why would I have _cared_, Peyton?" The fashion icon asked simply as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "If you were dying from keeping that secret, I wouldn't have cared because I wouldn't have known. Okay. Maybe Lucas and I would have broken up eventually and you two would have gotten together - but because of what _you _did, I am the one living with this secret, Peyton. I haven't told anyone about that night. How is _that _fair? You got to move on and pretend you hadn't done anything wrong while _I _slowly died from the guilt of keeping that secret because I _knew _that Lucas deserved to know the truth. But I never told him."

Her green eyes widened. "Brooke…"

"And before you begin to worry, I don't plan on telling him. I really don't, Peyton. I never intended on telling anyone. And right now, I wish I hadn't opened my mouth because now I'm here talking to someone who doesn't give a damn."

"Of course I give a damn, Brooke. You're my best friend."

It was as though they were going around in circles; and Brooke was _sick _of it.

"You know what? I think this was enough for tonight," Brooke said sincerely, trying to close herself off what was happening. "Maybe we should just end this fight right now and move on. I mean, let's face it; it's not going to get us anywhere. And I've moved on from it and I really don't want to do _this _anymore."

Fear gripped a hold of Peyton's heart. "What are you talking about, Brooke?"

"I'm talking about how this belongs in the past and bringing it up tonight shouldn't have happened."

"Then why did you bring it up?" Peyton asked simply, her green eyes narrowing at the brunette as she wished that she could travel back in time to ensure that this never happened. "You talk about how _I _should have lied, how _I _shouldn't have told you the truth about how _I _felt… but did you ever stop and think that maybe _you _should have lied to me about this? Did you ever think that _you _should have lied when I asked you what was wrong, or did you ever wonder how this knowledge would cause _my _world to crash down?"

"Yes I thought about how it would affect you, Peyton. That's why I tried to keep it in," Brooke admitted as her shoulders slouched down, being weighed down as a result of the pain that was in her heart. "I _told _you that nothing was wrong, but you wouldn't let it go. And I…I couldn't lie to you, P Sawyer. I know what it's like to have one of the people you love the most lie to you and that isn't a feeling that I would wish on you."

"Well, it's a little late for that," the strawberry blonde scoffed as she frowned at her best friend. "Don't you think, Brooke? Apparently you've been lying to me for the past five years; telling me that you were happy for Lucas and me." Her frown deepened, pure curiosity filling her green orbs. "Did you ever mean any of it? Or was it _all _a lie too?"

"It seems that you've gotten our roles in this friendship mixed up, Peyton." Brooke snarled, sending the tortured artist one more insufferable glare. "I'm the one that tells you the truth about my feelings when I come to terms with them; you're the lying liar who lies. Everything I ever told you was the truth, Peyton, _you _could always trust _me_."

Peyton heaved a despondent sigh. "But _you_ could never trust _me_.

Upon saying those words, the tortured artist's hands feel from her baby bump to rest by her side as she stared at the floor. Everything about her stance indicated that she wasn't _merely _in a state of sorrow as a result of the fight, but she finally allowing for the weight of everything to fall down on her. It felt like her world was collapsing around her and she didn't know _how _to stop it.

The fashion icon's face dropped at those words. There was a small part of her that also wished that they could erase their fight because both knew that their friendship would never be the same again. Not after this. This would always be the moment that Brooke would be able to point to and say _'that's when it all changed' _because this was the moment that she had put herself for a change. She had done this for her; not for Lucas, not for her beloved Naley, and not for her Precious Peyton - she had done it for herself.

Still, the fashionista's voice was quieter when she spoke again. "You said it, Peyton, not me."

Peyton had been hoping that the fashion icon would refute her comment; telling her that it wasn't true. She needed to believe that things could get better; she needed to believe that she and Brooke would have been able to make it past this if the brunette had just said something sooner. More than anything, she needed to know that her best friend _trusted _her.

"You _could _have trusted me, Brooke." Peyton said vehemently, trying to convince the brunette that the trust was there. Because with no trust, there was no friendship and she _needed _her best friend. "I thought you would have known that; I thought that you trusting me would have been a given considering everything we've been through. _I_ trusted _you_, Brooke."

Brooke shook her head, feeling the need to point out the one flaw in the strawberry blonde's logic. "It's not the same thing, Peyton. You trust me for the reasons I cannot trust you. Besides, I can't trust as easily as you do. We're not the same person."

_I love her, but I'm not Peyton._

"Right… because you're the serial martyr and I'm the serial victim." Peyton joked lamely, narrowing her eyes as a thought crossed her mind. Just like I always needed to be saved, you could never allow anyone to get too close to you or you would run. You're afraid that it will ruin that protective armor you've got going for you and that's why you can't let anyone it; that's why you couldn't let _Julian _in. It's all because you're afraid that it might break you."

A stubborn glint appeared in Brooke's hazel-green eyes as she nodded in agreement. "You're right, it might break me." The fashionista simply shrugged, "letting people in never really worked out for me before - remember?"

Peyton watched as Brooke fiddled with the end of her top, fighting the urge that she felt to ask the brunette who had hurt her so bad. Who had been the one that had damaged her so much that her insecurities had gotten this bad? The only thing stopping her from asking though was the fact that the strawberry blonde didn't want to hear her best friend admit that it had been her and Lucas that had been a large factor in it. Nevertheless, Peyton knew it could not have _just _been her and her fiancé that had broken the cheery woman.

There had been many people who had contributed to her broken heart.

First, there were her parents, the people who had never had the time to be proper parents to the broken-hearted brunette who had merely wanted her family's love. Then there were Brooke's two tortured blondes, a history that all of Tree Hill knew too well. Then there were all of the little things such as her much-loved Naley failing to ask her how she was doing. It was everything, and everyone that had had drifted from her, that had shattered Brooke Davis' heart.

"I don't know how to fix this, Brooke."

"Maybe it's not about fixing it," Brooke commented as she rolled her hazel-green eyes at her former roommate, an action that was hardly the response that Peyton had been expecting or looking for.

The soon-to-be-mother's face contorted into one of worry though. It appeared that Peyton didn't want to lose her best friend; the strawberry blonde completely unaware of the fact that she had already lost her.

"Then what are you suggesting? We bury it?" Peyton asked with uncertainty, "because I hate to break it to you, Brooke, but if this fight showed you anything, it definitely showed you how _burying _it doesn't solve anything. We need to be honest with each other from now on."

Brooke shrugged at those words. Suddenly she wasn't really all that sure that she was all for being such a good friend to Peyton anymore. The brunette almost felt as though she wanted to put herself first for a change.

"Or we could accept our relationship for what it is."

"Brooke, we _can _work this out. I know you, and you want to work this out as much as I do; I _know _you do.

"I'm not an open book, Peyton, and I'm never going to be."

"Can't we go back and… pretend this never happened?" Peyton asked hopefully, despite the fact that something told her that such a thing would be impossible by this point. "Can't we go back to before; back when we were best friends and you were happy for me because I was getting everything I ever wanted?"

Brooke resisted the urge to scream. Her supposed best friend was getting everything that the _fashion icon _had ever wanted; and even after all of this, it appeared as though that fact had not been absorbed by Peyton's brain.

"I told you once, Peyton. Before is gone."

"Does that mean that we can try to be better?" Peyton asked.

Her voice was hopeful but her gaze was wary as she watched Brooke carefully. Peyton had the sinking feeling that she was losing her best friend here; she _feared _that she was losing her. And that would be the one thing that she would not be able to survive. She _needed _Brooke.

"We already tried that, Peyton, and you didn't exactly come to par." Brooke said wretchedly, feeling the change in the air as she straightened her posture. She just didn't know if the change was going to be a good thing, or a bad thing.

Peyton sighed. "Then what does that mean?"

"It means that I learned a long time ago that the only person I can count on is me."

Those simple words that had escaped ruby lips were the furthest thing from the truth in one sense. Brooke knew that she could go to Millicent and Mouth, or Nathan and Haley, or even the river court guys if she needed to. But all in all, she was alone.

Brooke cleared her throat. "Now, I'm still your friend. I'm going to be there for you and I'm going to go to your wedding and give the most _kick ass _Maid of Honor speech that I can come up with… but that doesn't mean I can forgive you, Peyton."

"Brooke…" Peyton began, only to stop when Brooke shook her head in protest, angry tears in her eyes.

"No," Brooke said, as she looked Peyton in the eyes. Hazel meeting bright green. "You tore my world down." Brooke accused. "You could have lied. You _should _have lied, and right now, I cannot be in the same room as you."

"But Brooke we're _best _friends."

When had that become an excuse for them to push off their feelings?

"But I'm not sure I can be such a good friend to you any longer, P Sawyer." Brooke commented, noticing how Peyton was trying to cover the hurt and then added, "Because I'm not sure if you were ever mine. Now get out of here, Peyton, _please_."

Peyton did exactly that. She didn't offer any form of protest this time, instead she opted for nodding her head sadly before turning and rushing out of the boutique; the door slamming on her way out. There was no looking back and, as each and every one of Brooke's words resounded in her head, the strawberry blonde knew that they wouldn't be able to forget this fight. And it was simply because Peyton knew that the brunette had been telling the truth; she had _never _been as good of a friend to the fashionista as the brunette had been to her.

From the moment that Peyton Sawyer had kissed Lucas Scott in that library; from the moment she had failed to tell her best friend about the kiss, she had become a person that she didn't realize. She had become a manipulative woman that had fought for what she wanted, completely disregarding the feelings of the woman that she had always claimed to love above all others.

The ugly truth was that Peyton had _never _been the brunette's best friend; let alone Brooke's _best _friend. Now they were both left to deal with the repercussions because it was too late for the tortured athlete to fix her relationship with Brooke. She was no longer the cheery girl's best friend, that was, if she _ever _had been. Instead, she was simply Peyton Sawyer - Lucas Scott's fiancée and a backstabbing, two-faced bitch.

And she _knew _it.

-TBC


	2. Part II

**A****N: **There has been a slight change in plans here people. This is no longer a _two-shot_. I had way too many ideas to fit it all into two chapters, so it's at least going to be three, but I don't know how that'll turn out. So don't quote me on that one. Instead of placing a set number of chapters, it will be over when it says _The End_.

Anyway, I know that I promised that this would be focussing more so on the Brucas aspect but that has changed. Since it's no longer a two-shot, that confrontation can wait a little bit longer. As an alternative, this chapter focuses more so on Brooke letting go while Peyton dwells on what has happened. Think of it as my way of showing just how different the two of them are.

In addition, there is some Pucas in this chapter. _Regrettably. _It was something that I needed to add though. I mean, it's not like there was a Brucas friendship during this timeframe and the brooder has to find out about the fight _somehow_. Therefore, there is Pucas, despite how much it killed me to write it.

Moving on from that depressing topic and what I'm sure is the longest author's note of life, I would like to thank any that reviewed to for the first part & I hope that you like this. Which I think you all should, especially if you like Pucas angst. Oh yeah, the _true love always _washed up blah blah couple are having issues! : )

Please review.

* * *

_Now it's goodbye._

_No you can't take it back once the truth has come out of your mouth._

_So you tried to be honest, but honesty blew it this time.  
_

One hour and fifteen minutes.

Though it seemed as though more time should have been after passing, it had merely been a little over an hour since Brooke Davis had finally reached her limit which had resulted in the brunette bitching out her lifelong best friend, Peyton. All of the frustration and anger that the fashion icon had been harbouring for the strawberry blonde had been released.

Everything, all of the pain, the suffering, that had been held in for five years had finally been addressed. After holding all of it in, it had all escaped the fashionista's ruby lips in no more than ten minutes; ten minutes that would surely be enough to cause the fifteen-year long friendship to crumble.

The friendship hadn't been holding on by much in the first place.

Its supports had already been unsteady and shaky for the better part of six years and with the confessions that had poured out of the brunette's mouth, the whole foundation had collapsed around them. More than anything, it had shattered Brooke's heart when she realised that it had only taken ten minutes to destroy all of the remnants of the friendship that had been formed between the angsty blonde and cheery brunette so long ago.

Furthermore, it was more than obvious to the brunette that their friendship would never be the same again, that was if the two of them would be able to _have _a friendship after the events of tonight.

And Brooke Davis felt _terrible_.

The night was quickly descending upon and residents of Tree Hill but the brunette would not go to sleep. Despite the fact that she was both emotionally and physically drained, she would not go to sleep, even though a part of her wanted to, because Brooke knew that if she were to attempt to go to sleep that her dreams would morph into nightmares. Her mind would force her to relive the happenings of that night while her brain tried to process everything.

Assuming that she would be able to get to sleep instead of being up all night, into the early morning hours, because of her restless mind. That was why Brooke had resorted to sitting at her kitchen counter, mentally reorganizing her life, instead of bothering to try to sleep.

She needed to sort out now while she had the chance because her being at odds with the strawberry blonde was surely going to cause drama over the next couple of weeks, if not months. Not to mention the fact that it was going to result in a lot of confusion, especially among all of their friends.

All of their friends, and most people in general, truly believed that the fashionista and Peyton were the best friends that they had been back before the broody author had walked into their life and complicated everything. And for a while, those people would have been right. There had been a time not to long ago that Brooke had considered the soon-to-be-Scott to be her best friend; she had believed that Peyton was someone that would always be there for her. After all, the two of them had grown up a lot since high school and the strawberry blonde _had _been there for Brooke throughout all of her issues with Victoria; always ready with comforting words and a pint of ice cream. For God's sake, Peyton had even been there for the brunette when she had been struggling with Angie in the beginning.

It would be after everyone considered those points that the confusion would set in. None of their friends would be able to understand how two people could just drift away from each other like that, not when they had been so close. Even Haley James-Scott would have a difficult time understanding what had happened, unable to figure out what had drove the two a part, and the former tutor was as smart as they came; she hadn't been called Tutor-Girl for nothing.

There would be one answer to their questions though, an answer so simple that it broke the fashion icon's heart. And that answer was Lucas Scott.

It was not that Brooke was trying to place all of the blame on the author, she really wasn't, but when Peyton and Lucas had decided to run off together, everything had changed. When the brooder had called up Peyton and the two of them had run off to Vegas, leaving their hometown and loved ones in the dust, the two blondes that the fashionista had loved dearly had disappeared and had morphed into people that Brooke didn't know.

That one phone call had been the moment when the changes had begun to take place, but neither of them had noticed them soon enough to fix it. Brooke had been to broken after her attack to put the effort in to fight for her friendships and Peyton had become wrapped up in her illusion of _true love always _and had changed for the worst; becoming trapped in her angsty Leyton-La-La-Land while she dragged Lucas down with her.

Prior to running off to Vegas, the strawberry blonde would have been there for Brooke every step of the way; she would have comforted her upon learning that the brunette had to give Angie back earlier and she would have helped Brooke heal after she had been attacked in her store. Back then, Peyton would have wondered why the fashion icon had given up her company without so much as a fight. _That _Peyton would not have rested until she had found out what had happened in New York between the mother and daughter duo, and then the angsty woman would have kicked Victoria's ass for saying that she wished that Brooke hadn't been born like any _true _best friend would have.

Nevertheless, that Peyton was long gone and did not exist anymore.

In addition, before Vegas, Lucas Scott would not have been as blind as he had been lately. The brooder would have been more sympathetic and compassionate towards the fashionista after she had lost Angie. He would have asked how she was instead of stealing her best friend from her the very same day; the day that she had needed them the most. He would have _cared_. Moreover, the best-selling author never would have believed her story of falling down the stairs, or at the very least, he would have ran to her house and gathered her up in his arms the moment he learned that she had been attacked. He would have promised that he was sorry that he hadn't been there to save her, he would have assured her that the two of them would make it through it all together. That was what Lucas Scott would have done a year ago.

Much like her beloved best friend, that Lucas was gone too. He didn't exist either.

A sob wracked through Brooke's entire body as the truth crashed down upon her for the first time since it had all happened. All those months ago, she had lost two of her best friends, even though she hadn't wanted to admit it. Instead, the brunette had pushed it to the side, pretending to be happy for the two blondes, while she secretly hoped that everything would eventually go back to normal. However, all hope of that had diminished the moment she and Peyton had fought.

Brooke Davis could not be the strawberry blonde's best friend anymore and Lucas hadn't been her friend since he had returned to Tree Hill.

It was in that moment that the fashion icon finally allowed for all of her walls and defences to fall around her, tears streaming down her face as she had a moment of clarity. She had spent months wishing that things would go back to normal, unaware of the fact that _this _was normal now; things would never go back to how they had been.

That solitary thought was enough to break Brooke's heart all over again as she stared at her clasped hands.

Other than the James-Scott family, the two blondes were really the only family that she'd had back in high school. She'd had other friends, that much was for sure, but the two blondes and her dearly loved Naley had been her _family_. Brooke didn't know how to feel now that she had lost two imperative members of her family.

Brooke had been so caught in her thoughts that she didn't even bother to look up when she heard the front door open. Ever since her attack, her nerves always seemed to be much more obvious at night, but the fashionista had long ago made it a habit of hers to keep the front door locked once the sun went down. That was why she didn't even flinch or remove herself from her thoughts when the she heard the door click once it had been closed; only so many people had a key.

Samantha Walker took a deep breath and released it as a long sigh as she prepared herself for the oncoming lecture that she was sure to receive. As if it hadn't been bad enough that she had been out past her curfew, she had just spent the better part of the hour talking to Victoria Davis. That was why the teenager had paced apprehensively outside the door before entering. She had no idea of to break the news to the fashion icon because something told the younger brunette that Brooke wouldn't be happy about her foster daughter spending time her 'evil bitch mother.'

She _had _to be honest with her foster mother, though. Over the past couple of months, Brooke had done her best to clean up Sam's bad habits (such as lying and stealing) and the teenager had done her best to try the whole honesty thing. Hell, she had even tried the whole opening-up thing for once.

_That _was why Sam had to be honest with Brooke; she didn't want to send them two steps backwards.

Upon hearing the sound of heartbreaking sobs though, the teenager was unprepared for the sight that graced her eyes. Of all people, the fashionista was sitting in the kitchen with dim lights dancing across her pale face, the light reflecting off the water droplets that were leaking from Brooke's hazel-eyes.

Brooke Davis, the woman that had always seemed so put together and collected, was breaking down.

"Brooke?" Sam questioned as she walked over to the older woman, a frown marring her features as she dropped her book bag onto the floor. "Hey…are you okay?"

The fashion icon didn't offer any response to Sam's question as her foster daughter dropped down onto the stool next to her, her hand reaching out to rest on Brooke's shoulder in a comforting way. What _could _one say when they had just lost two members of their family, especially when it had partly been their own fault?

The moment her question had left her lips, Sam had known that it was a stupid question to ask. She hadn't known what else to ask Brooke though, seeing the fashionista like this was completely new to her and she was in untested waters. Before now, the teenager had only seen the older woman cry once. Brooke Davis hadn't shed _one _tear when she had been faced with her attacker. She had only cried when she had learned that her attacker had been responsible for the death of Quinton Fields; the death that had caused so much pain to the people that she loved.

"I'm alright," Brooke lied, roughly wiping her eyes, frown etching into her face when she saw the fifteen-year-old roll her eyes before kinking an eyebrow. Both of which were actions that Sam had undoubtedly gotten from the fashion icon.

Sending Brooke a pointed look as she arched her eyebrow even high, Sam scoffed at the only _real _mother she had ever known. After all, anyone who really knew Brooke knew that she would _never _be caught sitting in her kitchen, crying her eyes out, if she were truly all right.

It was with that thought in mind that those two words spilled from Sam's mouth before she could stop them; two words that she _knew _she would regret the moment that she had said them.

Sam snorted in disbelief. "That's _bullshit_."

Brooke narrowed her eyes into a motherly glare, not at all impressed by the teenager's vulgar language even though the fashionista was more than aware of the fact that she had said a lot _worse _when she had been fifteen. But that was completely different.

"Fine," the fashionista relented, "I _will _be alright. And I'm deducting one dollar from your allowance this week."

The teenager's eyes widened comically at that comment, her mouth going dry as her jaw dropped in astonishment. Not only because Brooke sounded as though she were back to her normal self, but because the older woman had _never _taken _any _money off of her allowance since Brooke had started giving the fifteen-year-old a weekly check; as long as she didn't throw a party at the boutique or steal anything. _Again_.

The whole allowance thing had been a weekly occurrence since the brunette duo had started acting like a real mother and daughter; ever since the fashion icon had embraced role as a mother to a teen and Sam had given Brooke the chance that the older woman had truly deserved.

Sam stood up; her eyes still side as she gaped at her foster mother with a disbelieving look on her face, the word vomit spilling from her mouth once again before she could stop it. She _really _needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut.

"What? Are you _fucking _serious, you're taking off a dollar?" Sam cried in outrage, instantly sitting down and smiling upon seeing Brooke's unimpressed look. Clearing her throat, she continued. "I mean, let me rephrase that…why _ever _would you do such a thing?"

Brooke cracked a smile at the teenager's imitation of a Stepford wife, her tears finally beginning to dry on her red cheeks as the water droplets finally ceased. Her wit was something that Sam _definitely _did not get enough credit for.

"It's _two _dollars now, Sam, because I will not tolerate you speaking like that. If you want to continue hanging around with Jamie we need to clean up your language too, because both Haley and I _will _hunt you down if he starts talking like you."

"But I corrected…"

"Rephrasing what you said doesn't let you off the hook," the fashion icon's face fell at her words, "when you say something, you can't take it back."

Sam made a face, the confusion she felt more than obvious by the way her eyebrows furrowed together in the middle of her forehead.

Brooke sighed upon seeing her foster daughter's confusion, leaning forward so she could brace her elbows against the counter, trying to think of a way to explain everything to Sam without confusing the teenager. After all, Sam needed _stability _in her life and the fashionista was anything but stable at the moment.

Resting her tearstained face in the palms of her hands, Brooke had to fight the urge to laugh at the absurdity of her statement. Everything she had done as of late, had been to ensure that Sam had a stable environment, and the teenager was _probably _living with one of the most emotional women in Tree Hill. That was simply irony at its best.

No matter how amusing she found the statement though, it didn't change the truth behind them. It was impossible to travel back in time and erase the fight that had erupted between the two women who had been friends for most of their lives and it was impossible to take back the words that had sounded between the two of them.

Brooke couldn't help but frown deeply as her mind once again drifted to the argument.

The moment that the words had began to escape her lips; the fashion icon had felt nothing but relief as she snapped at Peyton. Brooke had finally stopped fighting her internal battles and had said what she had secretly been _dying _to say for over five years. All of the anger and hurt had just poured from her mouth and it had felt _great_.

Even though Brooke had long ago let go of her feelings for Lucas Scott, having found love since she had called it quits with the brooder back in high school, time hadn't erased any of the betrayal she had felt because of the two blondes who had broken her heart. Admitting the fact that they had broken her aloud had felt _invigorating_. The hazel-eyed woman had finally demolished the damn she had built around her heart and had allowed for her raging river of emotions to run rapid.

It had only been when the soon-to-be-mother had rushed from the boutique that the unsettling truth of what had occurred had weighed down upon the brunette; effectively causing her heart to sink. The truth had _needed _to be said, but Brooke still could not believe that she had thrown away a fifteen-year-long friendship.

She had probably added more stress onto Peyton's shoulders too, something that the woman definitely didn't need since she was pregnant _and _having complications on top of that.

Nevertheless, when she thought back on the words that had been said, Brooke didn't feel any regret - _surprisingly_. Instead, since she had called the strawberry blonde out on her 'poor poor pitiful me' attitude and voiced how she _really _felt, Brooke felt lighter now than she had in years.

Did the brunette wish that it had occurred in a different way? _Yes_.

Did it hurt knowing that their friendship would never be the same? _Somewhat_.

And although Brooke was feeling happier and more at peace than she had in years (something that she _knew _wasn't healthy in the least), the brunette would own up to her feelings and admit that she would miss the friendship that she had built up with her P Sawyer since the two of them had moved back to Tree Hill.

The fashionista would miss her pseudo friendship with the tortured artist more than she would ever be able to explain, to herself or to others. Despite how much she would miss the friendship though, Brooke had finally realised that it was better for her to get all of this out in the open now and accept their friendship for what it was instead of living in an illusion of what she _thought _their relationship was.

Sam frowned as she continued to rub comforting circles on the older woman's back, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that had seeped into her very soul. Brooke appeared to be zoned out, numb to the fact that the teenager was trying to comfort her, but Sam didn't mind in the least. The fashion icon had been there for her, no matter what, so the fifteen-year-old could suffer through _one _uncomfortable moment for her foster mother.

"Brooke," Sam began warily, "did something happen?"

Had something happened?

Brooke mulled over those words, wondering if something had happened. She knew in her heart though, that something had happened; something had changed. In reality, if she were being honest with herself, she would admit that _everything _had changed.

_How many moments can you point to and say, 'that's when it all changed?'_

Brooke Penelope Davis, the woman who was loved because she had always put everyone above herself, had finally grown a selfish bone in her body. And she couldn't have felt better about the fact. Oh God, maybe she was crazy. Actually, Brooke had always known that she was crazy on some level, but now it was official. One of the most selfless women in North America was _happy _that she had been _selfish_.

Alert the authorities!

"Yeah, something happened," the fashionable foster mom breathed out, "everything changed."

Sam kinked an eyebrow. "Would you care to elaborate? Because _'everything' _is kind of a wide range."

Brooke chuckled aloud as she lifted her head and looked at Sam with a sad smile on her face, knowing in her heart that she was the only one to blame for the pointed look on the teenager's face. The kinked eyebrow was _all _her.

_You kink your eyebrow, when you're trying to be cute._

Sam huffed. "Well?"

The fashion icon rolled her eyes at her foster daughter's patience level. "Peyton and I had a fight."

"You had a _fight_?" Sam asked, her eyes widening as her hand fell from Brooke's back in shock, "about what?"

The fact that the two best friends had fought was something that Sam had a hard time understanding. Ever since she had moved in with the cheery woman, the teenager had never heart of Brooke and Peyton fighting with each other. By the look on Brooke's face though, it was clear to see that the two friends fighting was not something new.

"About every moment that the two of failed at being a friend," Brooke admitted softly.

In a nutshell, that was what the fight had been about. There had been many moments where the two of them had failed the other. Peyton had failed at being the fashionista's friend more times than Brooke cared to count, considering that she had listed them all out earlier, but she too had failed as a friend. And Brooke knew it.

She had failed to be honest with Peyton.

The fashion icon had spent years assuring the tortured artist that she had put everything behind her, that there were no hard feelings, but it had all been a lie. Brooke had never been lying when she claimed that her past relationship with Lucas was behind her, because she had learned a long time ago that the brooder wasn't the guy for her. And she was glad he wasn't; he had never deserved her heart.

When she had said that she was over all of the pain that she had suffered through because of those high school years...that had all been a lie. Brooke didn't know if those wounds would ever fully heal. And even if they did, the scars would still remain.

The younger brunette frowned. "What do you-?"

"It's okay, Sam." Brooke assured as she turned to smile at her foster daughter.

Brooke honestly believed that on some level, that everything would be okay eventually. Everything would be different, but sooner or later, everything would work out. The fashion icon truly believed that. She had her faith back.

"It's late," the cheery woman commented suddenly, "so why don't you just go to sleep and I'll look past the fact that you were out past curfew? _Just this once_."

Sam sighed in mock dejection, a smirk lighting up her face. "Fine."

As much as she would have loved to pester Brooke until she got an answer out of her, Sam knew her foster mother well enough to know that her conversation with Brooke would have to wait for tomorrow. The fashionista needed to be alone right now, and if that were what it took for the brunette that Sam knew to come back, then the teenager would just deal with it.

She couldn't give in without one more jab though.

"It's no fun bitching with you when you're all hung up on your best friend slash lesbian lover slash apparent adversary, anyway."

Dimples indented Brooke's face as the younger woman got up from her stool, gesturing wildly with her hands, as she walked towards her bedroom. That girl was picking up so many Brooke-isms that it honestly scared the brunette on some days; but right now, it only amused her.

"You're down three dollars, Samantha!" Brooke called out as the teenager shut her door, "are you _sure _you want to continue down this road? You _can _get down to the negatives, ya know? And at this rate, you'll never get anymore money out of me, Young Lady!"

"I said _bitching_," Sam shouted, "it's not exactly a swear word, _Old_ Lady!"

Brooke chuckled upon hearing Sam's muffled response, her smile widening as she stood up from her own stool and headed towards her own bedroom. Pausing outside the teenager's room though, the fashionista chuckled, unable to stop herself from taking one more go at the plucky teenager.

"That's _four _dollars, Sam!"

As expected, the teenager let out a loud, exaggerated groan of disapproval and Brooke cracked up laughing as she walked into her room; her smile instantly dropping off of her face as she sighed.

For her to truly put the past behind her, Brooke knew what she had to do. After all, there was no turning back now that she had already opened her Pandora-esque box of forbidden emotions, but as her eyes rested on her bed, the brunette shook her head when she realised the insanity that she was resorting to.

Maybe she was _beyond _crazy. That was the only explanation for _this_; it was the only explanation as to _why _she felt the need to drag this up as well. As she had said though, there was no turning back now.

Regardless of that though, there was still a frown etched onto Brooke's face as she walked further into her room and dropped to her knees; her arms reaching under the bed as they blindly searched for a box. Not just any box - _the _box.

Finding it, the brunette grasped a hold of it and pulled it out, and stared at it in hesitation for a couple moments as her fingers brushed against the box. It wasn't an overly extravagant box, not one that would make others stop and marvel at its design, it was merely a simply box that someone would use to hold the memoirs of their life. However, this box didn't exactly hold happy memories.

Was she ready to face this as well?

Brooke shook her head at her uncertainty, muttering to herself at how spineless she was being at that given moment. She was afraid of a _box_.

"You've lost it, Brooke Davis."

What really scared the brunette, resulting in a grimace crossing her face, was the fact that she had sounded like Chris Keller in that moment. Now _that _was something to be afraid of. Even the mere thought of the musician had Brooke frowning when the image of him popped into her mind, spikey hair and all.

Those were some memories that she didn't want to relive.

Neither were the ones that the box held.

Brooke stared at the box in contemplation for several more moments before she scoffed in self-disgust, lifting the box up before she carried out into the kitchen. The box only held the memories; she had already lived through it all. She could face this; she was brave.

_Brilliant and beautiful and brave; Brooke Davis._

A feeling of restlessness filled her entire body and Brooke took a deep breath as she placed the box on the counter before she quickly tore the top off the box, her hazel-green orbs staring at the contents of the box. Almost instantly, a feeling of nostalgia seeped into her heart, but she knew she had to do this.

Even though the fashionista was moving on from the past; purging her life of all of the hurt she had felt in the past, there would always be something holding her back until she let this go as well. Moreover, while she had long ago moved on, the contents of the box were physical objects that were keeping her tied to the past - something that Brooke no longer wanted.

That was _one _thing she was sure of.

It was time for Brooke to put the past behind her where it belonged. She would spend no more time dwelling on everything from high school, nor would she spend any more time letting the attack hold her back. It was time for _her _new start.

The first thing to catch her eyes were her old sketches.

Lifting them out of the box, Brooke smiled at the designs that she had sketched a long time ago. She had drawn them shortly after she had begun working with Victoria, and the brunette couldn't help but smile when she realised just how good they were. Even though Victoria had scoffed at them, claiming that they were undeveloped and juvenile, the fashion icon had never had the heart to throw them out.

Putting them to the side, the cheery woman's heart sunk ever so slightly when her eyes landed on what she had been looking for. There, underneath all of the old pictures and sketches, were four envelopes that held the letters that had long ago been sealed. Four letters that had never been sent and were all addressed to the same person.

Lucas Scott.

Just as she had done all of those years ago during that fateful summer where she had wrote the brooder one letter a day, until there had been a grand total of eighty-two letters, Brooke had written Lucas one letter a year since they had broken up senior year, but she hadn't wrote him one this past year.

What was the point when he was nothing more than a stranger to her now?

That didn't change the fact that there were four more letters; four more letters that, unlike the other eighty-two, Lucas Scott wouldn't read. These letters had never been meant for anyone else other than her; they were her way of letting go back then. No one would ever know that these letters existed.

_If that's letter number eighty-_six_ from the sad box of Lucas-summer, you can keep it._

That was a lie though.

Someone _did _know about the letters; Peyton Sawyer knew about the letters.

The tortured artist had been in the boutique that day when the fashion icon had made the slip of the tongue, the number eighty-six tumbling out before she could stop it. That didn't matter though because it seemed as though Peyton hadn't made the connection. Not that Brooke had _expected _her supposed best friend to notice the number. After all, the letters hadn't meant anything to her.

The letters were something that had been shared between Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis alone.

That was why the cheery fashionista would _always _be thankful that it hadn't been the brooder that had been present when she had made her slip. She knew in her heart that then, a year ago when he had been _her _Lucas, he would've picked up on the mistake. And that was one explanation she would not have wanted to get into.

Brooke swallowed and ripped a letter open.

The moment she had seen what letter it was, the fashionista felt her head begin to spin as she read over the letter that she had written prior to walking over to Lucas' house senior year to break-up with him. The letter held all of the pain and heartache she had felt because of the brooder's secrets and Peyton's confessions. It held every detail of why she had broken up with him to begin with; many of which were reasons that Lucas Scott still did not know.

Nevertheless, as she had told Peyton earlier, she never intended on telling the author the truth.

What was the _point_?

It wouldn't change anything, too many years were in the fold now, and the fashionista had no point in rehashing the night that a huge piece of her heart had been shattered; a piece of her heart that had failed to be repaired since. Maybe there was no fixing it.

_I don't know how to fix this, Brooke._

_Maybe it's not about fixing it._

As the argument resounded in her mind for the millionth time since she had gotten home, Brooke sighed, wishing that there were a way for her dull the voices that were ringing in her head. All she could hear was Peyton's voice, as well as her own, ringing in her mind.

It seemed as though all of their secrets were finally catching up with the both of them. The fashion icon had finally reached her limit; unable to live in her bubble any longer where everything was fine. Moreover, after the argument, something told Brooke that Peyton wouldn't be able to bury her wrongdoings any longer either.

Two sides of the love-triangle of drama were finally facing up to everything that had happened back in high school. Now though, there was only one side left that didn't know the truth. Lucas was the only one that didn't know what had _really _pushed the two best friends apart from each other and it all because no one had bothered to tell him.

_I knew that Lucas deserved to know the truth. But I never told him._

Brooke had always known that the brooder had deserved to know the truth. Back then, the cheery brunette had wanted nothing more than to tell him everything that had happened because a part of her had known that Lucas would have gone back to her if he had only known.

Maybe that was why she _hadn't_ told him.

She had wanted the tortured athlete to make the decision on his own. The former cheer-captain had not wanted anything that she said to influence his decision because _Lucas _should have known what was in his heart. It shouldn't have mattered what clarities that the blonde had had and it shouldn't have mattered _why _the brunette had broken up with him. Lucas figuring out who was in his heart had been the only thing that had mattered back then.

Which he had. And it had not been Brooke that had held the broody blonde's heart; it had been _Peyton_.

That was the other reason that Brooke hadn't told Lucas the truth, she had been afraid that every insecurity that she'd ever had would be proven true. She had been afraid to tell the brooder the truth because she had feared the outcome; she had been afraid that, upon learning that Peyton was in love with him, that Lucas would have dumped her right then and there so he could run off to be with his precious Peyton.

Therefore, instead of giving him the chance to break her, the fashionista had broken up with him as her misguided way of saving herself some pain and heartbreak.

Brooke let out a long, deep breath and blinked away the tears as her hazel-green eyes skipped down to the last couple of lines of the letter that had not been unsealed _once _in over five years. Apparently, she hadn't succeeded in saving herself any heartbreak because, as the fashion icon read her pain-filled words, she felt just as much pain now as she had when she had wrote them.

_Peyton is in love with you, Luke. I know if I told you that, you would claim that she was innocent and the kiss had meant nothing; and maybe it didn't mean anything to you. But it meant something to her. She loves you. She told me herself, and now I have to let you go. _

_I love you so much that it consumes me in every way and I don't think that love will ever fully go away. You never forget your first love, after all, but I can't do this anymore. I love you. Be happy._

_Love, Brooke Davis._

Brooke closed her eyes as the tears that had begun to build the moment she had opened the box, finally fell from her eyes as sorrow filled her entire being. All of these emotions should be in the past, just like the box that the brunette knew she should not be looking at. Especially not after all of these years.

Looking into her sad-box would only succeed in causing her more pain; pain that Brooke wasn't sure she wanted to relive. Not when it came to this. She had suffered enough over the years, especially over Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott.

Nonetheless, after the events that had occurred that night, Brooke had felt an inescapable need to look at the box; to look through all of the memories of her high school life. She had felt the need to look at it so she could remember who she had been back then; back when she had been her true self.

She needed to look at it so she could find a way to bring that girl back because it was time for her to make her reappearance. Brooke had already lost so much in her life; she didn't want to lose herself too. The cheery girl _had _been lost though, but it didn't change the fact that there was a possibility that she could be saved.

If there was any possibility of saving herself, then Brooke was going to take it. Over the past couple of years, she had lost Peyton Sawyer, Lucas Scott, Rachel Gatina and countless others. Brooke Davis _refused _to become another causality. She wasn't going to wait for anyone else to save her anymore, not even Lucas Scott. She was tired of waiting for him to rescue her.

_S__ometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

Brooke Davis was going to save herself.

It was time for her to let go and she intended on doing exactly that.

Without bothering to unseal the other letters, the fashion icon picked them up into her trembling hands and walked over to the burning fireplace. It was only then as she stood before the burning the flames, their intensity and fire reflecting back in her own eyes, that Brooke looked down at the letters in her hands.

It was amazing how easy she found it to let go after all of these years.

It was as if being honest with the strawberry blonde had somehow given Brooke the strength to be honest with herself. Other than the letters, there was nothing else holding her to the past. And she was finally ready to let go.

Brooke breathed out.

Then with no uncertainty, the fashionista tossed the letters into the fire and watched them burn as she curled up on her sofa. Hazel orbs watched as the flames ate away at her written words.

"I'll miss you," then, for what she swore to be the last time, one more word tumbled out of her mouth, "_Boyfriend_."

Cheery and Broody were gone. So were Pretty Girl and Boyfriend, and the brunette was finally ready to accept that. Her actions from back then could not be taken back, nor could the words that Brooke had spoken tonight. Not that she wanted them to be.

It was time for Brooke Davis to move on with her life.

She felt free.

**-x-**

She felt trapped.

The soon-to-be-Scott had never felt more trapped in her entire life. Nothing else she had ever been through could compare to the feeling that was overwhelming her heart at that moment, threatening to have the much-needed appendage burst because of the pain that was sure to eradicate her.

The pain she had felt when she had been smothered by her self-doubt when she had been living in Los Angeles or when she had been held captive by her psycho-stalker, Ian Banks, back in high school could not even compare to what she was feeling now.

All of those things had been an obstacle that the strawberry blonde had been able to overcome. Something inside of her heart though, told Peyton that she wouldn't be able to get over this as easily. Unlike all of those other times, she wasn't running from a place or a person. She was running from her inner demons, as well as the unforgiving truth of her true mortality.

She was a bitch.

_Bitch_.

There was no other word in the English vocabulary - or _any _vocabulary - that could better describe Peyton Sawyer. That was, of course, unless one was to add more nouns and adverbs to the sentence to make a phrase such as "backstabbing, two-faced bitch." Because that was what Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer was, and there was no denying the fact.

She had tried to deny it, though. Five years ago when her best friend had once again ended their friendship, telling the blonde that she was a backstabbing two-faced bitch, Peyton had tried _so _hard to deny it. Now though, the light of what she had done had been shone on her and there was no way for the soon-to-be-mother to refute the statement any longer.

It was that one fight; that one explosive argument that had sounded between two friends over an hour ago that had forced Peyton to see the light of what she had done. The aftermath of the argument was another thing that was weighing down upon her. It had been so unexpected that it had blind sighted her. She hadn't woke up this morning thinking that she would lose her best friend.

Then again, losing your best friend was similar to losing a limb, and no one woke up one day expecting to lose their arm. No one expected to wake up one day, only to lose their best friend. Even though Peyton was sure that she had lost hers long before today.

She had lost her best friend. It had been that realisation that had brought the strawberry blonde here, sitting at the kitchen table, her silver spoon diving into the mint ice cream as salty tears streamed down her face. Nothing could get rid of the dejection and heartbreak that was swirling around inside of her. They were feelings that Peyton could not smother, no matter hard she tried or how much ice cream she consumed.

Nothing could be solved by eating ice cream and Peyton had known that long before she had opened the container of ice cream, but somehow, eating the chilled delight made the soon-to-be-Scott feel closer to Brooke as she remembered all of the times that the two of them had bonded over shared ice cream and movies.

Regardless of the fact that ice cream could not _really _solve anything, there had been times in the past that it had seemed as though ice cream had salvaged the friendship between the blonde and brunette duo, as well as solved their problems. There was the epic sleepover junior year and a time a little over a year ago when the fashion icon had been dejected over her mother's detestation of her.

If only they could go back to those days. Then maybe the ice cream would be able to mend Peyton Sawyer's broken heart. Or even better, maybe, if ice cream could really solve all the problems of the world, she wouldn't have a broken heart to begin with.

Ice cream hadn't been the thing to get the strawberry blonde over all of those times though. Sure, if someone had asked her a few hours ago, she probably would have smiled her normal lopsided grin and replied _'ice cream_,_' _but that was the furthest thing from the truth. It hadn't been ice cream that had gotten her through. In actual fact, it had been Brooke Davis.

Peyton's spunky _former _best friend had been the one that had gotten her through all of the difficult moments in her life. It had been Brooke Davis that had allowed the strawberry blonde to rest her head on her shoulder as she cried her eyes out, and it had been the fashionista that had _always _put her best friend above herself - an act of compassion that Peyton had _never _done.

Some best friend she had been.

That was when the owner of Red Bedroom Records realised that she had never done anything to _earn _Brooke's friendship back after the deeds she had done senior year. The brunette had simply forgiven her and the two of them had tried to act as if nothing had ever changed. She had _never _deserved to be Brooke's friend - something that Peyton had become conscious of when she had rushed to the safety of her car after hurrying out of the boutique.

That was why she had tried her best to _not _look back at Brooke as she ran out away.

She had almost made it home too, before the tears had once again begun to fall. As soon as she pulled into the driveway though, the water droplets had fallen from her emerald-green eyes and the sobs had started to wrack her entire body. All for the simple fact that Peyton now knew that, because of the cruel words that had been spoken, there was little hope for restoration of their friendship.

That unadorned piece of information was enough to have Peyton understand the pain that the foster mom had felt during senior year when it had been the strawberry blonde that had destroyed all remnants of their previous friendship. The fashion icon had seen all of the fractures back then when Peyton had just opted for ignoring them - something she could no longer do.

Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer now knew the painful feeling of being let down by her best friend, not because Brooke had done anything wrong, but because the brunette had finally done something _right_. The hazel-eyed woman had finally told Peyton the truth, and the fact that Brooke had been unable to until this point, dismayed Peyton.

She had also been disappointed when she had entered her home, only to find the house empty. Foolishly, she had been half expecting Lucas to be there, waiting for her, ready to pull her into his arms and comfort her - _save her_. After all, it was what he did; what he had always done and in that moment her fiancé was the one person she needed to see more than anyone else, except Brooke that was.

She _needed _Lucas.

The label owner needed to hear the brooder say that she had done the right thing back then; that her selfishness had not changed the outcome in the slightest - they were an example of _true love always_, they would have ended up together regardless of what she had said all of those years ago. Peyton knew that in her heart. Despite that, she needed to hear it from Lucas. She needed to hear him go on about how he had always been in love with her, that every other relationship that he had been in had merely been a result of his denial of the fact that it had been the tortured artist that had held his heart all along.

It was then that she heard the sound of someone entering the house, the scuffing of their feet walking up the hall as they threw their keys down onto the small table at the door - all signs that it was indeed Lucas that had just walked through the door.

He was home; he was there to rescue her.

However, for the first time in a long time, Peyton Sawyer did not care that the brooding author was about to see her falling apart. A few months ago, she had deleted an emotional voice message before leaving him a more upbeat one, and it had been because she hadn't wanted him to worry about her. Now though, she was _willingly _letting him see her fall apart - even though she knew it would cause Lucas to become more worried and paranoid than he already was. Nevertheless, in that moment, Peyton did not care.

Call her a bitch…it was the truth anyway.

"Peyton?" Lucas called from down the hall, a frown on his face, as his worry continued to consume him while he searched for his fiancée. "Are you home?"

All he knew was that she _hadn't _been home two hours ago when he had returned home, only to find that the strawberry blonde was gone. Lucas had immediately called her cell phone, but she had not answered. And while he _was _pissed as hell that Peyton had not been resting as she had been ordered by her doctor, his concern for her outranked any of the anger that he felt.

That was why, powered by his distress, he had left the house once again, opting for going out to find her. His search had led the author to her office at Tric before he had resorted to calling Nathan and Haley, as well as Mia, but no one had seen the tortured artist. Hell, Lucas had even called Brooke's place in search of Peyton, but there had been no answer at her beach house or at the boutique. And, though the call had went through, the fashionista hadn't answered her cell.

He had finally run out of places to search, and with that thought in mind, he had returned home - _hoping _that he would find the strawberry blonde at home; safe and sound. Peyton _had _to be home. The blonde refused to accept the fact that she had gone somewhere he hadn't thought of; he refused to believe that he didn't know her that much.

It was in that moment that Lucas' face adopted his well-known broody expression when he noted that all of the lights were off and, upon not hearing Peyton answer him, his worry and concern swirled through his veins until it threatened to consume him. He knew she was home, she _had _to be, and when he saw the faint glow of light coming from the kitchen, he let out a breath of relief.

Nonetheless, the concern was restored when he heard the faint sound of someone crying.

Speeding up his pace as he walked towards the light, the blonde couldn't help but pause in the doorway as a shocked expression crossed his face when a distraught Peyton was placed before him, sitting at the kitchen table with tearstained cheeks as she ate ice cream.

She looked broken.

And just like always, he was there to put her back together; to _rescue _her.

"Peyton?" The brooder murmured to himself in confusion before he rushed over to his fiancée's side, instantly enveloping her in his arms, as he looked the strawberry blonde over for injuries. He didn't see any. Peyton was _physically _fine.

Lucas did not know if that was a good thing or not. It meant that whatever it was that was causing his love's pain was emotional. By the way she was sobbing, it seemed as though Peyton Sawyer was suffering from a broken heart. And _that _killed him because he didn't know what was wrong.

"Shhh…shhh…it's okay."

Peyton dropped the spoon into the container of ice cream as she sat there, numb to everything and unmoving, as Lucas continued to hold her in his arms, whispering comforting words into her ear. It didn't ease her pain. His presence was not offering her the comfort that she had thought (and hoped) it would. Despite the fact that he was holding her tightly, she was numb, unfeeling, and frozen in place as Brooke's words continued to ring in her mind.

_I told you once, Peyton. Before is gone._

Lucas, on the other hand, felt lost and confused as his dearly loved fiancée continued to cry in his arms. He tried to think back to something that could have resulted in Peyton being in such a state, but nothing came to the author's mind. As far as the brooder knew, nothing had happened lately. Well, except for the added trouble with the strawberry blonde's pregnancy.

Fear gripped a hold of Lucas' heart.

He pulled back from her slowly so he could look Peyton in the face, his dread clearly strewn across his face. The fear that something had happened to the baby - to _his _baby - was eating away at his mind but he didn't know how to ask his fiancée about it. If something _had _happened, Lucas knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Peyton…" Lucas began hesitantly, "is something wrong? Did something happen?"

As he waited for his love to answer him, Lucas released a sharp breath as he kneeled in front of the young woman, intertwining their fingers, before resting their joined hands on Peyton's small baby bump.

Peyton tried to blink away the tears as she felt Lucas place their hands on her baby bump, her emerald-green eyes moving to gaze at her expanding stomach, as she nodded mutely to Lucas' question.

Of course something had happened, she wouldn't have been held up in the kitchen crying her eyes our if nothing had happened. She had argued with her best friend, and as she thought about it once more, Peyton felt her sadness chip away at her heart a little more. She had lost her best friend. After everything that the brunette had ever forgiven her for, the strawberry blonde had never expected that to happen. But it had.

A part of her wish they could go back to when it had just been the two of them. Back to when the two of them had simply been P Sawyer and B Davis - _best friends_.

Suddenly, Peyton felt the fervent need to bitch at Lucas Scott. After all, it had been after he had walked into their lives that the two friends had been torn apart as a result of the love that they held for one boy.

_Not one boy, Peyton; my boy._

Nevertheless, she held it all in.

For the first time in her life, Peyton Sawyer was tired of bitching and she was tired of crying over everything _bad _that happened in her life. But more than anything, the owner of Red Bedroom Records was tired of placing blame on others when it was clearly _her _fault that all of this angst seemed to float around her.

Besides, it was wrong to snap at Lucas since he did not know what had happened back then. The brooder had been left in the dark all of these years and a part of Peyton knew that he would never fully understand the fight that she'd had with Brooke - not unless she came clean and told him the truth.

However, confessing all of her past sins wasn't something that Peyton thought she could do. She had already lost the fashionista because of what had happened senior year and the strawberry blonde didn't know if she could risk losing Lucas too. He was one of the few constants she had left in her life.

Lucas frowned. "Peyton?"

Not getting a response, fear continued to grip the brooder's already fragile heart as his fiancée remained a prisoner, trapped in her stupor. Her green eyes stayed locked on her baby bump as the saddened expression on her face became more prominent.

Following her gaze once more, the author attempted to derive a conclusion as the fear in his heart threatened to choke him as he tried to catch Peyton's eyes, finally asking the question that had been rolling around in the back of his mind.

"Peyt, are you and the baby okay?"

"We're fine," the strawberry blonde murmured softly when she heard how lost he sounded, but that was as far as her explanation went. "The baby and I are fine."

Her explanation was far from the truth though. It was a lie, a complete lie. Each and every time they went to the doctor, she continued to caution the angsty woman of the dangers of carrying to full term, but Peyton had always brushed it off because she had always believed that things would work out and be fine.

Now she wasn't so certain.

She was getting everything she had ever wanted but, _somehow_, her getting everything she wanted with the man she loved had caused Peyton to lose the fashion icon; her best friend since the age of eight. Now she was left with confusion. Was this life with Lucas _really _worth losing Brooke?

The truthful answer scared Peyton.

In an attempt to brush those thoughts off, the strawberry blonde looked over at her fiancé and frowned when she noted that Lucas had failed to talk after the whispered reply she had offered for his last question. By the way his eyes were squinting, there was no doubt in her mind that he was analyzing every possible situation that could have caused her current state.

Nothing that the brooder would be able to come up with, though, would be the right answer. Her fight with the fashion icon would be one thing he would not suspect because there hadn't been any warnings that a fight would occur between the two friends. To the outside world, it had seemed as though they had completely buried the hatchet and _were _best friends. Even Peyton hadn't seen the signs because there hadn't been any to her knowledge, and if there had been signs, she had been blind to them.

The moment that thought had appeared in her mind, Peyton had once again began quivering as the sobs continued to overtake her body. An occurrence that caused Lucas' eyes widen even further in helplessness as he tightened his hold on the woman he loved; the woman that he intended to spend the rest of his life with…the one he had always been able to rescue.

Nevertheless, that feeling was absent from the author's being now. Unlike in the past, when he had known how to save the tortured artist _every time_, Lucas felt the same feeling of being powerless that he had experienced the day he had learned of Peyton's condition. Once again he did not know how to rescue her or, at the very least, how to stop her tears.

But the label owner couldn't stop crying.

The fight with the fashion icon and the destruction of their faux friendship had truly broken her heart. And it was a hurt that Peyton didn't know if anyone, not even the brooder, would be able to eliminate. Healing her heart seemed like an unattainable assignment. People always said that time healed all wounds, but something told Peyton that the saying did _not _apply to this situation. Nothing would be able to heal the bond that _she _had broken.

"Peyton," Lucas began once again, "what's wrong?"

He needed to get Peyton to explain had had happened to cause her pain; he needed to know what was wrong in order to rescue her. And the blonde author _needed _to save her from this. He couldn't save her from the dangers of her pregnancy, but he would not allow this to bring his love down either. Besides, this was causing her stress and stress was _not _good for the baby - _especially _not with Peyton's condition.

"Everything," she whimpered.

With her confession, she gave into her need to feel loved and finally returned the hug, wrapping her arms around Lucas' neck and pulling him as close to her as she physically could. And, with their two bodies moulded together, she felt the ache in her heart ease up a little. But the pain was _still _there. She couldn't erase it.

Lucas Scott frowned at his fiancée's choice of words and continued to rub his hands up and down Peyton's back as he tried to process what she meant by _'everything.'_ Ever since they had learned of the added complications, it had always been Peyton to tell him that everything would be okay; that their ending would be a happy one because they were in love and together. Her thinking that e_verything _was wrong didn't make sense.

"What?" The author asked in puzzlement as he felt his fiancée stiffen, causing him to frown as he thought back to the reason for his previous anxiousness, "where were you?"

"With Brooke."

There was a hurt tone in her voice as she uttered those simple words that it worried Lucas. He couldn't remember _ever _hearing Peyton sounding so broken when talking about their brunette friend. At least, it was a tone that hadn't applied to their friendship in years and that was a thought that alarmed the brooder.

When Peyton didn't elaborate on the comment, Lucas frowned and countless and theories and scenarios began to swirl around in his mind as he wondered what could have happened to the fashion icon that would have caused her best friend to be in such distress; distress that _he _was now feeling as those thoughts spin around in his mind. The mere thought that something had happened to Brooke made Lucas feel his heart go heavy as its beats became more erratic.

"What happened?" He asked while his concern for the brunette swelled up inside of him and left him unsure as to whether or not he _wanted _to know the answer, "is she okay? Is she hurt?"

Brooke could _not _be hurt.

That was the only conscious thought that was running through Lucas' mind as he thought back to all of the things that the fashionista had lost recently, not to mention what she had been through. Brooke had lost Angie, been attacked in her store, lost her company and had fallen hard and fast for Julian - only for the producer to leave town. Personally, he didn't think the last occurrence was particularly _bad_ but he was unsure of how much more hurt Brooke's heart would be able to bear.

Everyone, even his strong Pretty Girl, had their breaking point.

Peyton frowned as she thought back to the argument. _Had Brooke been hurt?_ Seeing the cheery woman's not-so-cheery expression flashing before her mind's eye, Peyton felt herself nod slowly as she looked into Lucas' sapphire eyes.

As soon as she saw how Lucas' face had dropped though, she instantly realised what she had just insinuated. Brooke hadn't been hurt in _that _way.

She shook her head slowly, correcting her prior implication even though Peyton knew that the brooder had hit the nail on the head. The cheery woman _was _indeed hurt, but there was no need to worry Lucas because she hadn't been hurt in the way that he had instantly thought about.

Brooke Davis had been hurt emotionally…and it had happened long before tonight.

"Brooke's fine, we just…" Peyton trailed off as a hazy look appeared in her eyes, knowing in her heart that her words couldn't have been more wrong. She cleared her throat, "…us hanging out didn't go _exactly _as I thought it would."

It was then that Peyton broke down once again.

The brooder frowned as he tried to think of a way to make Peyton calm down long enough to tell him what had happened. Though she had assured him that Brooke was fine, there was obviously something that she wasn't telling him.

"So what," Lucas laughed, "she was pissed because Haley called dibs on Godmother and now you feel terrible because you promised Brooke that she would be an important part in the baby's life? Because she will be - she's your best friend."

Peyton flinched.

"No, we… we had a fight," Peyton whispered sadly.

Looking down at her baby bump, the label owner noted how Lucas was caressing it as a way to get her to relax. And, while that would normally would have worked, all she could think about was the fight. The mere thought of her pregnancy only succeeded in reminding her that she had _everything _that Brooke had _ever _wanted.

Lucas frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together in the middle of his forehead as a sinking feeling slowly seeped into his stomach. As he pulled back and looked into Peyton's eyes, the feeling only increased.

If the fight had been bad enough to break Peyton down like _this_, then the author wasn't sure that he wanted to know what the fight had been about. Fights were rare between the friends and, if he was being honest, all of their major fights had somehow involved him. He didn't _want _to know what this one had been about, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"About what?"

With the same broken voice, Peyton sighed and repeated that simple word once more. "_Everything_."

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she rubbed the tears away from her eyes, her face feeling slightly brittle due to the dried tears, and pulled away from Lucas.

"What do you mean _everything_?"

Waiting for an answer, Lucas watched as the strawberry blonde stood up and walked over to the sink, only to turn around and rest her back against the counter. As soon as she looked back at him, blue eyes latched onto green, and the tears once again began to build up.

What worried him though, was the fact that an emotion that he didn't understand had flashed in his fiancée's eyes.

"I mean, like, _everything_."

Lucas took a step towards the distraught woman as she tried to explain herself, but the label owner immediately forewarning him to stay back with a gesture of her hands. Whatever it was, she didn't want him to hold her up; she wanted to see if she was strong enough to stand by herself.

_That _was new.

"She came by earlier…she wanted some advice on how to deal with something," Peyton continued, her head dropping when she saw Lucas' confused expression. "Victoria's back in town."

He instantly cringed at the sound of the wretched woman's name and had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Victoria Davis had caused her brunette daughter so much pain and heartache over the years and he couldn't understand why she couldn't just leave Brooke alone; let her be happy.

He felt rage swell up in his body. "What'd she want _this _time?"

Though he was enraged with the older woman for causing _his _Pretty Girl so much sorrow, it didn't even occur that he too had hurt Brooke over the years, yet he was unable to fully cut her out of his life.

Peyton sighed, "She wants Brooke to go back to the company."

Lucas blinked at her in pure confusion. Victoria _wanted _the fashionista to go back to the company?

"Apparently it's going under without Brooke's talent," the angsty woman explained, "and she guilt-tripped Brooke into going back. Bitch-toria said that if she _didn't _go back, all of the people that got Brooke to where she was would lose their jobs."

"So she went back."

He did not even bother to state it as a question because he knew in his heart what the brunette had done without asking. He knew Brooke's heart better than he knew the back of his hand and he knew that she _always _looked out for others - even complete strangers. Moreover, the company had meant _so _much to her - there was no way that the fashionista _hadn't _gone back.

"Yeah…and it's partially my fault. She didn't know what to do. Brooke came over earlier and asked me what she _should _do, and instead of telling her to tell her mother to go to hell, I told her that I _knew _she was going to go back because it's who she is. I told her that she would go back because she always gives up her happiness for others…even when they don't deserve it."

Lucas squinted at the once pixie-curled blonde in confusion. He didn't understand what was so shocking to Peyton, because there was a truth in her words, a truth that had always been so obvious. But he didn't understand the context of her words, nor could he douse the fact that they bothered him somehow.

"I don't get it…" Lucas finally muttered after a few seconds.

Peyton tiled her head so she could look up at the ceiling. She realised that it was _her _fault that Lucas did not understand what was going on; it was her fault that the blonde did not know the truth. It had always been her responsibility to tell him the truth - not Brooke's, hers - but she never had.

At the thought of that, her eyes darkened as Brooke's words assaulted her mind.

_The only reason I ever found out about that kiss was because Lucas assumed that I was mad at you that day because I found out about the kiss; not because I had found out that you were in love with him. _

_It's the fact that you felt the need to remind me of the fact that I once gave up what I wanted for you._

_Every time I fucking turned around, I saw the two of you together, Peyton._

_I knew that Lucas deserved to know the truth. But I never told him._

Peyton knew what she had to do in order to be a better friend to Brooke; the kind of friend that the fashion icon deserved. _But what it could cause her to lose… _She looked back down and stared into her fiancé's eyes, deciding to trust in their love, and walked over to him.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked quietly.

"Of course," Lucas answered as she intertwined their fingers as she led him over to a chair, suddenly refusing to meet his eyes as he took a seat.

But he could see the worry on Peyton's face. Whatever she was about to tell him had her scared; scared to tell him, and that caused him to worry. But he didn't have to worry. What she was about to tell him wasn't going to be _that _bad. Besides, there were no secrets between them.

"God, I don't know how to start this."

"What's going on Peyton," Lucas asked, "is this about the fight?"

His concern for his torn up fiancée was more than obvious by the gentle, soothing tone he used, but only the alarm stood out to the green-eyed woman. His tone wasn't soothing to her, and it didn't comfort her. It made her flinch in guilt.

"Yes," she answered with a broken voice, having the decency to sound ashamed for once as her bony fingers ran through her strawberry-tinted hair. "The fight…it was about what Brooke has given up for others; what she gave up for _me_."

"I don't get it…" the author frowned, "what did she give up for you, Peyton?"

Peyton took deep breath, knowing that she need to stay calm for the well-being of her baby, but she felt as thought it was impossible for her to stay calm. She knew what her confession would bring; it would bring confusion to the author, but this was her one and only chance to make things right. If she didn't do this, she knew she would never be able to fix things between her and Brooke.

"You."

Lucas frowned, "What?"

"She gave up you."

He was confused and his mind was racing rapidly as he tried to process the words that were plummeting out of Peyton's mouth.

How had Brooke given him up for Peyton?

Of course, Lucas knew that his friendship with the brunette had fallen to pieces once he had returned to Tree Hill with the strawberry blonde, but Brooke had always insisted that it was because she had wanted them to be happy. She hadn't wanted to get in the way.

Besides, the fashion icon knew that he would be there for her if she needed him.

By being with Peyton, the fashionista hadn't lost him to her best friend. She still had his friendship, but there was an ache in Lucas' heart that told him that his fiancée's meaning was a little more significant than that.

"I'm _so_ sorry, Luke." Peyton told the man she loved, on the verge of tears once again, "I know this doesn't change what I did but I need to tell you the truth." She took a deep breath, "I lied to you. Senior year, when Brooke broke up with you, I _lied_."

"What are you talking about?"

Nevertheless, the moment the words had left his mouth, Lucas felt himself being pulled down memory lane as his mind was refreshed with the recollections of what had happened all of those years ago. Secretly wondering what it had to do with what was happening _now_.

_Lucas sighed deeply as he leaned up against the wall in the angsty blonde's bedroom, a melancholy expression on his face as he played with his cell phone. All he wanted was to call the brunette, or for her to call, so they could find some way to work this out…not that he knew _what _they had to work out._

_Though it had been hours since it had happened, he was still confused as to why Brooke - his Pretty Girl - had broken up with him. All of the things she had said had been true; he _had _been absent since Keith had died, and he should have called her when he was away, but he hadn't been lying when he said that he had missed her everyday. He always missed her when she wasn't around him but apparently, _she _had stopped missing him._

_The brooder sighed once again._

_From where she was sitting on her bed, facing him, Peyton frowned slightly at Lucas' sigh as she digested the news that had just been thrown her way. Brooke Davis had put the breaks on her relationship with the brooder; the brunette had broken up with Lucas._

_She just didn't understand why._

"_She broke up with you…" the curly blonde frowned, her expression halfway between worry confusion as she tried to get her head around it. Biting her lip, Peyton hung her head in shame as the next words fell from her mouth. "Well…did she say _why _she broke up with you?"_

"_She said she loved me," the tortured athlete recapped as he gazed at his cell phone intently, becoming more confused by the second as he awaited the cheery girl's phone call. "But she didn't miss me anymore…"_

_Peyton's face adopted a look of pure confusion, one that caused Lucas to trail off when he saw it. Apparently she didn't buy it either. There had to be something else that had influenced Brooke's decision to end their relationship._

"_I don't know," Lucas sighed after a moment, wondering if he was reading into everything all too much, overcomplicating it. "She said it wasn't because of you."_

"_Because of me?" Peyton questioned quickly, her look of confusion being replaced with one of pure panic as she regarded the blonde athlete carefully. Did he know what she had said to Brooke?_

"_Our kiss in the library." Lucas explained._

_Offering her a small smile, Lucas misread the blonde's worry for confusion and went back to staring at his cell phone; missing Peyton's look of relief altogether._

"_It wasn't that," he continued, "but if that's true there's_ something _she's not telling me."_

_A guilty expression adorned Peyton's face as her best friend's voice resounded in her mind, calling her a two-faced bitch. She should have known what her confession would lead to, and maybe she had known, but didn't care. Either way, Peyton knew that _she _had always been Brooke's biggest insecurity. And hurting the brunette was the last thing that she had wanted to do._

_She _had _to set things right, despite how she felt._

"_You know what Lucas," she said, gaining the other blonde's attention, "umm…the night of Nathan and Haley's rehearsal dinner…I said something to-"_

_Before she could finish what had appeared to be an important confession on Peyton's part, the power went out and it was never brought up again. She had never seen the point - __**'fate' **__had intervened._

As he came out of the distant memory, Lucas looked up and stared at his fiancée with narrowed eyes, his anger-filled gaze aimed at the strawberry blonde for the first time since he had told Peyton that he hated her.

"What did you say to her?"

With his question, he stood up and crossed his arms across his chest, feeling anger course through him when Peyton refused to meet his eyes. He wanted a response; he _deserved _an answer and he was damn well going to get one.

"Peyton," he snapped, speaking a little more harshly this time, "what did you _say _to her; to Brooke? On the night of Nathan and Haley's rehearsal dinner…what did you say?"

The curly-haired woman felt shame in what she had done, not because of what she had done, but because she loved Lucas and always would, and she hated the fact that she had felt as though she had needed to lie to him about this. Besides, this confession wouldn't change anything. _They _were meant to be together and nothing would change that. After all, _she _was his comet.

"I told Brooke that I still had feelings for you."

The author blinked in confusion, then he blinked again, and then pure bewilderment was strewn across his face as he stared at Peyton. He was confused. What the label owner had just confessed to changed…well, everything.

"Feelings…what do you mean you told her you had _feelings _for me?" Lucas questioned, watching his future-wife fiddle with the hem of her shirt as he began to brood, "you mean you told her that you cared for me as a _friend_, right?"

Anticipation raced through his veins as he took a deep breath, even though he knew that there was a chance that he wasn't going to like the answer to his question. Despite all of that though, he could not erase the reliefhe felt now that he was finally going to have all of the answers. After all of these years, he would no longer be clueless.

"No," Peyton admitted helpless as she thought back to that night so long ago, "I meant _more _than that…I told her I was in love with you."

"You told Brooke that you loved me when the two of us were still together?"

Something inside of the brooder broke at those words, the memories of times he had thought he had put behind him rushing back to him for analysis now that he had all the facts. Suddenly everything made so much more sense and he could see the things he hadn't noticed back then.

_The kiss? It meant nothing._

**What**_ kiss?_

He had been so caught up in trying to convince the fashion icon that it was _she _that held his heart that day that he had never really noticed that she had been blindsided by his confession of kissing Peyton again. The kiss had never been the reason that the two friends had been fighting because the brunette hadn't _known_ about it…God, he must have shattered her heart in that very moment.

Before he could reflect on that memory, another one popped inside his head and he could feel his heart growing heavy as each memory flashed before his eyes.

_Look, I'm sorry I kissed Peyton. I should've told you._

_It's not about _**that**_, Luke. It's not._

It was only then that he had understood his ex-girlfriend's words. Lucas had been right all along, the fashionista had been keeping something from him; withholding vital information, and now it seemed as though Peyton had known the real reason all along as well. Hell, she had _been _the reason.

Brooke had broken up with him, not because she had stopped missing him, but because her supposed best friend had felt the need to drag all of the love-triangle drama up again by confessing that she had fallen in love with the brooder. But, for whatever the reason, the childhood friends had not felt the need to inform _him _of what had happened.

He'd had just as much of a right to know as the two of them, but neither had even stopped to think long enough to realise that, _just maybe_, he deserved to know the truth; deserved to know that his Pretty Girl had ended their relationship because the pixie-curled artist had claimed to be in love with him.

And more than anything, neither of them had taken into account that he had been in love with _Brooke_ and _not _Peyton.

_I love _**you**_, Brooke. I want to be with you, not Peyton._

Peyton almost smiled as she watched her love slowly absorb her confession; dealing with the news that she had thrown at him. He did not look half as angry as she had predicted him to be, she noted, which meant that she had been right. It had _always _been her and Lucas as the end game. Everything was the way it was meant to be…in time, the brunette would be fine, and she would continue to live her happy life with Lucas and their baby.

What she had done back then was all right because everything was the way it was meant to be. Lucas was the one for _her_ and the past didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact that the two of them had found their way in the end.

_People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end._

It was with that thought that a small smile crept its way onto Peyton's face, the strawberry blonde releasing a deep breath before she was forced to watch as the author's face slowly morphed into one of anger. He paced the room, resembling a tiger that had been locked inside a cardboard box, and she instantly tried to redeem herself.

"Luke, I'm sorry that I never told you."

Lucas looked at her with an incredulous face as he regarded Peyton with new eyes, unable to believe what she was telling him. He shook his head angrily, disbelieving of how clueless his fiancée was being. She thought _that _was why he was pissed?

"You think I'm angry because you never told me?"

"Yeah…"

Lucas scoffed. "That's _not _why I'm angry…I'm _pissed _that you had the nerve to say that to her, that you never bothered to tell _me_ before now. Peyton, I asked _you _countless times if you knew why she broke up with me, but you never told me! You…you played ignorant and said that you _"didn't know."_"

"Luke, what happened back then…it's okay. Brooke understands that it was _always _meant be you and I and she knows that the two of you were simply a high school fling. You two were never meant to last, it was _me _that you had always loved…" she trailed off, chuckling slightly as she thought back to something that Brooke had told her. "You always _did _have a habit of throwing yourself at the wrong girl when you couldn't admit to yourself who you _really _loved."

"I always threw myself at the wrong girl," Lucas repeated, a bitter laugh escaping his lips, "what the _fuck _has made everyone an expert on _my _heart?"

The green-eyed girl jumped back slightly at the author's sudden outburst as he continued to shout at the top of his lungs, only to pause in his pacing so he could turn to glare at her with an incredulous expression. Then he continued.

"I mean…I tell everyone that it's _Brooke _I want to be with because I love her, and then everyone, including you and Brooke, automatically that I'm in love with _you_," the author grumbled. "Then I tell everyone I want to marry _Lindsay _and I actually say 'I do' to her…which must automatically mean that I am hiding feelings for you."

Her green eyes widened slightly as her eyebrows furrowed together in perplexity. "Luke, they were right."

There had been a silent question in Peyton's statement and, for the first time since they had gotten back together, the strawberry blonde felt herself needing to be reassured of the brooder's feelings for her. Any other time, she would have gone to the fashionista and Brooke would have soothed her by telling her that Lucas _did _love her; that she was the one.

She could not do that now, though. Brooke wouldn't be there to comfort her anymore because, after years of friendship, she had pushed the cheery woman to the point of no return. Suddenly she was without a flotation device, cold and alone, in a sea of loneliness that had been created because of the lies that she herself had told.

Lucas narrowed his eyes further as he took a deep breath, the anger back in his eyes in full force as he shook his head, unable to believe what his fiancée was saying. This was a completely new side to the woman and he suddenly felt as though he had to get away.

"I…I can't be around you right now," Lucas admitted sadly as his mind became clear, telling him what he had to do, "I have to talk to her."

"Talk to _her_?" Peyton questioned, her eyes widening when she realised whom the other blonde was talking about_. _

He was running off to talk to _Brooke_.

However, the label owner wasn't all too sure how well that was going to go over. Earlier it had been perfectly clear, even to Peyton, that the brunette hadn't had the vigour and patience to talk to _her_. The strawberry blonde didn't want to know how Brooke would handle Lucas storming her house in the middle of the night.

"Yes Peyton I need to talk to talk to Brooke," Lucas bit out bitterly, determination in every syllable as he looked at his future-wife, his eyes lost and hurt. "As in I need to talk to her in order to understand why the hell the two of you decided to _lie _to me. I…I just need to talk to her."

Once she heard how lost her fiancée seemed to be, the curly-haired woman reached out a hand to comfort him but Lucas instantly jumped away as though her touch would have burned him. He was pulling away from her. And that thought killed Peyton as she tried to hold back her lost and disbelieving look.

"Luke," she said softly as she frowned at Lucas, "it's after midnight and Brooke is probably asleep. You can wait until the morning to talk to _her_ but _we _need to talk about this now; _I _need to talk about this now."

The brooding author sent Peyton Sawyer, the one he was _supposedly _meant to be with, one more hurt-filled look and sighed. This was a whole knew side to the label owner and, as he processed everything that he had learned tonight, he whispered the words that he now wished he had said years before.

"Quit being so damn selfish Peyton, not everything is about you."

Then, without another word, he headed out the door.

"Lucas! Lucas Scott, come back here! You need to talk to me about this," Peyton shouted as she rushed after her fiancé in an eruption of panic, her eyes desperate and pleading but Lucas simply kept walking.

She watched as Lucas' figure slowly walked away, becoming smaller and smaller, as the distance between the two of them grew. A distance that Peyton _knew _was not only measured by physical space, but by emotional coldness as well.

Suddenly she was left with a feeling of déja vu that left her cold to the core. Earlier all she had wanted was to tell Brooke the truth, to let out all of her feelings in an attempt to strengthen the bond that the two of them held, which was what she had just tried to do with Lucas. She hadn't wanted any secrets to exist between the two of them. Nevertheless, just as it had earlier, the conversation had ended with someone walking away and a broken relationship. Both the broody author and cheery fashionista had given her another chance, and she blew it.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered as she slunk down to the floor, her hands resting on her stomach as she leaned up against the wall.

The strawberry blonde did not know whom she was talking to; whether it was herself, Lucas, Brooke, or even her unborn child. All she knew was that there had been many things in her life that she wished she could take back, this being another one of those moments for Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, and she was truly sorry.

She had merely tried to be brutally honest and honesty had blown it once again. The only thing that was _thoroughly _frightening was the fact that Peyton did not even know who she had left on her side. Unlike all of the times before, she didn't have Lucas _or _Brooke to fall back on.

They had left her.

No.

As a teenager, she had always claimed that the people in her life left her and that she was always alone. Now though, Peyton could easily see that she had been wrong back then because people leaving her had never been the case. The people in her life never left her, at least, not deliberately. _She _drove them away…and from the looks of it; it was about time she got used to it.

_People always leave? Or Peyton always drives them away?_

-TBC-


	3. Part III

**AN:** This time I _promise _the story will be focussing on the Brucas aspect of everything. This was meant to be in the last chapter but, since I decided to make this longer than a two-shot, I decided to use a full chapter to just set-up for this one. As a recap, Lucas knows the truth about everything and Brooke has finally let it all go… meaning that there will be one of those Brooke&Lucas fights that we've all been missing _soooo _much.

Actually, I just miss seeing the two of them as _friends_. Though they were my favourite couple, I can almost deal with the two of them _not _being together if they're _good _friends like they were in season five. Nevertheless, just like everything else, the stupid writers had to go & royally eff that up…

…oh what I would say if I could have five minutes of Mark's time.

Anyways, this still is not the happiest chapter you will ever read on this site, but there is Brucas headed your way. So why are you reading this? Go read the chapter and then review because you are awesome & I love reading your thoughts.

* * *

_What would I care if you were dying from the guilt of keeping a secret?_

_This isn't fair, 'cause now I've gotta be the one dealing with it._

Lucas Eugene Scott did not get it. He didn't understand how the two people he had trusted and _loved _during high school, and even afterwards, could have lied to him. For over five years, he had been led to believe that Brooke had simply stopped _missing _him and Peyton had been at his side at that time because she was his _friend_.

But none of it was true; it was all lies.

The fashion icon hadn't stopped loving him during their senior year, the love she had possessed for her best friend had just simply outweighed the love she'd had for him. And, despite the fact that it had been Peyton Sawyer to tear down the relationship that they had worked so hard to build, Brooke had moved aside so the tortured artist could creep into his heart.

Peyton _had _crept into his heart, too, which had been her plan all along. Back then, the pixie-curled blonde had never _really _intended on helping the brooder win Brooke back, she had simply hung around with him so she could wait for an opening so she could sneak into his heart without him ever knowing what she had done. But Lucas knew _now_.

And it changed _everything_.

It turned out that both his angsty fiancée and the cheery fashionista were not the people that he had been led to believe they were. As it turned out, Peyton was far more selfish and self-centered than the author had ever believed possible and it turned out that Brooke, being the strawberry blonde's opposite in everyway, was far more selfless than the brooder had known.

None of that changed the fact, though, that Peyton should have told him the truth sooner. Nor did it change the fact that _Brooke _should have told him back then; back when the two of them had been known as Boyfriend and Pretty Girl; back when Lucas would have been able to fix it.

At the present moment though, the author didn't know if anything about the three of them could be saved, not now that all of the truths of the love triangle from hell; truths that consisted of lies and hurt, had been dragged up from their forgotten depths. Now, almost six years after they had put this triangle to rest, the three of them were left to deal with the consequences.

But in order for the brooder to face those consequences, he needed some _vital _questions answered so he could figure out when everything had gone so wrong between the three of them.

_That _was the one thing that Lucas knew as he walked to Brooke's house in a daze, his mind running into overdrive as he tried to figure everything out, knowing that he would never be able to move past this until he talked to the brunette about it. He needed to know why she had never told him that it had been _Peyton _that had ruined them.

Lucas scoffed.

It seemed as though the tortured artist always came to the conclusion that she was _in love _with him whenever he was happy with someone else.

With that thought in his mind, the brooder couldn't help but to think back to everything that had happened over the past year, scoffing once again when he thought about what Peyton had done to him and Lindsay. It had been a malicious re-run of the drama that had occurred back in high school. What the curly-haired woman had done to him and Lindsay had been the exact same thing she had done to him and _Brooke _years before.

Anger boiled in his veins at the mere thought of it. Honestly, his rage was to the point that his chaotic thoughts had pushed him to the point where he was beyond caring. He didn't care that he had left his fiancée alone and distraught, nor did the blonde care that he was stuck in the middle of a brewing storm.

As far as he was concerned, there was already a storm at hand. The repercussions of their actions were only catching up with them _now_, but this moment had been something that had been in the making for over five years.

Moreover, the brooding author knew that there would be revelations, bits, and pieces of the story that were still to be revealed; each piece of the puzzle holding its own downpour of ache. It was a storm that was attacking and threatening to destroy Lucas Scott's heart, mind and world.

_Do I get to be part of this world?_

_The biggest part._

_Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. _Lucas pleaded mentally as he closed his eyes in pain, willing for the memories of him and Brooke to stop flashing before his eyes, his blue orbs closing in hurt as his mind taunted him with the pain that his actions and blindness were now bringing forth. The pain alone was threatening to tear him apart as every hurt comment and look that the fashionista had _ever _given him over the past five years played before his mind; taunting him for his mistakes. They were taunting him because he hadn't seen _them_, hadn't seen Brooke's pain; the pain that had been _literally _staring him in the eyes on so many occasions.

The recollections of his relationship with the cheerful brunette had been rearing its ugly head from the moment that Lucas Scott had stormed out of his childhood home, leaving Peyton behind with her pleads and frightful shouts, something the he had been numb to while his pain had assaulted him in full force.

The only problem was the fact that the author didn't know what was causing the pain. There had been too many instances and truths that had been brought to light that he wasn't sure what was causing the throbbing pain of resounding guilt in his heart.

Lucas couldn't believe any of what he had learned that night. He couldn't comprehend the truths that had tumbled from his fiancée's mouth as she revealed why _his _Pretty Girl had broken up with him all of those years ago; the reason that Brooke had pleaded with him, begging him to stay away from the bitter cheerleader, to do what _she _wanted, just that once.

The brooding author had not listened, though. He hadn't understood the imploring sparkle that had been in the fashion icon's eyes that day and he had brushed it aside, only to run right into Peyton's waiting arms; the arms of the woman who had single-handedly tore down the relationship that the broody and cheery duo had tried to build. She had destroyed everything that he had tried to build with Brooke; the girl that he had claimed was _the one _for _him_.

_Maybe we're still in high school and you haven't met the one yet._

_But I have._

The night of the Boy Draft had been the night when Lucas had realised that it was the cheery girl that he wanted next to him in his future; the one he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. It had been Brooke Davis that he had wanted to be there when all of his dreams came true, not _even _if they _didn't_ come true, as he'd said with Peyton because, with the brunette, he had never doubted that his dreams _would _come true.

There had just _always _been something about the brunette that had completed him in a way that no one else had ever been able to. Maybe it was because they were polar opposites, or maybe it was just her. After all, there was just something about Brooke Davis that made impossible to _not _love her.

The reasons hadn't mattered then, though, and they didn't really matter now because on _that _night, the brooder had known for sure that it was the cheer-captain that was the _right _one for him. In his mind, she had been the one for him and there had been no other person on the planet that would ever be able to possess his heart the way she had.

_Do you really think there's one person in this entire planet that's right for you?_

_I do._

_Okay… what about Peyton?_

However, that didn't change the fact that the brooder was now with Peyton, nor did it change the fact that the author was starting to regret ever getting with the strawberry blonde. Honestly, he _did _love Peyton. But now his eyes had been opened to all of the damage that the two of them had caused to the people in their lives and he wasn't so sure that he would ever be able to trust her anymore. From this day on, he would no longer be able to trust her to be honest with him, and there couldn't be a relationship without trust. At least, there couldn't be an _unwavering _relationship without trust.

Also, the brooding man wasn't sure if he would be able to turn a blind eye to what the label owner had done; what she had done to him and what she had done to the girl she claimed to love above all others, her "best friend," _Brooke_.

He shook his head at the thought of the woman who was once again filling his mind.

Then, Lucas Scott found that he had to pause in his steps briefly to catch his breath as he train of thought finally forced him to process all of the things that he had ignored for years. Now that he knew of Peyton's betrayal, he was finally able to understand the mind of Brooke Davis.

His mind was finally able to comprehend all that _he_ had done.

It was only now that Lucas had figured out just how much he must have hurt her when he had run off to Peyton without so much as a look in her direction as he sped away, leaving skid marks on Brooke Davis' fragile heart. He now understood why the former cheer-captain had broken up with him, he understood why she had always been so tense and scared around him and he knew why she had distanced herself from him when he had gotten back together with Peyton mere months ago…

It was all because he had, once again, smashed her heart in a billion pieces.

And in doing so, he had demolished any and all faith that she'd had left in him. What pained him the most was that he hadn't noticed it until it was too late; too late to regain the friendship that he had built back up with the fashionista, the friendship that had been shattered as a result of that _one _phone call that Lucas had sworn he was _so _sure of.

Nonetheless, because of that phone call, the brooder had once again managed to lose Brooke. Only this time, he feared that he had lost her _forever_… and he wasn't ready to face that yet; he wasn't ready to lose her yet.

_I wasn't ready to lose you yet._

While she had resided in New York, he had gone years without having the fashion icon being a part of his life, but the author would be lying if he said that he hadn't been happy when Brooke had moved back to their hometown. She had been a major part of his life for so long that it had just felt… _wrong _to not have her there, with him.

Having the brunette back in his life again had taught Lucas that he hadn't been, or never _would_ be, ready to lose Brooke Davis. He needed her in his life in order to breath; she was his oxygen and, with newfound knowledge that he now possessed, the blonde felt as though he were truly breathing once again.

It felt as though he had been on life support for years, breathing in the same recycled air of lies over and over again, only to receive an invigorating breath of fresh air. A breath of fresh air that came with the knowledge of the happenings of that night all of those years ago; the night that Lucas Scott had been to absorbed in himself and _his _needs to notice how the brunette's eyes had been screaming at him, begging him to rescue her from the heartache that had been thrust upon her as a result of the clarity her so-called best friend had shared with her.

_Sometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

_From what?_

_From all of it._

_Okay then, I will. If you promise to rescue me back._

_I promise._

Lucas did not know if he had ever kept his promise to save the former cheerleader, but he _did _know that Brooke Davis had saved him. She had saved him so many times that he honestly couldn't understand how she had ever been so _caring _and _loving _towards him, not after everything he had done to her. But, as always, Brooke had sacrificed herself for the ones she had loved by being there for them; for _him_.

She had been there every step of the way, through the thick and thin, from the moment she had entered his life. From the moment that the bubbly brunette had bounced into his life, the night she had popped up in his backseat _naked_, Brooke had been at his side. No questions asked.

The fashionista had _rescued_ him.

It had been Brooke that had been there for him when he had believed that Dan had been running some sort of scam and she had been the one that had saved him from his self-destructive ways after he had lost his Uncle Keith. He remembered those nights after his uncle had died; he remembered how he had been drowning in pain, only for Brooke to save him. She had sacrificed her heart for his, wanting to help him grieve, and he had ended up breaking her heart all over again.

Surprisingly though, it hadn't ended there. Even after that; after their romantic relationship had ended, Brooke had made sure that she was always there for him whenever he needed her. She had helped him believe in his ability as a writer and she had been there when Lindsay had walked out on him and their life together. Hell, Brooke had even been the one that had helped him move on from Peyton Sawyer, healing him in her own way that night in New York after the curly-haired artist had refused his first proposal.

New York.

He had to gasp for air as the memories of that night came back to him, causing Lucas to stop dead in his tracks as he remembered how _cruel _he had been that night. Even though his heart had been dragged through hell, there was no excuse for what he had done. He could not even blame it on the fact that he'd been drunk because no matter what excuse he could come up with, it did not change the fact that he had been sober enough to kiss the fashion icon and remember it. He even remembered begging her to stay that night _after _he had kissed her.

He had done the _one thing _thathis Pretty Girl had wanted him to do on _so _many occasions; he had begged her to stay, the very thing that he had always failed in doing. It was such a simple task but he had always opted for turning his back on her and walking away, an act of malice that Brooke had mirrored when she had walked out of his hotel room that night.

Damn, he was such a dick.

Even before he had begged her to stay, he had been sober enough to mutter the words _"it won't matter where we are, as long as we're together" _that night while they had been on that carriage ride. Not once had he even considered how much his words would hurt the brunette. He had thought it had all been laughs and giggles that night, the two of them laughing as they planned _their _future. A future that had consisted of three children, two boys and a girl; a future that he had thought was a mere _joke_, causing him to laugh aloud while he had ignored the hurt that had etched its way into Brooke's features.

For his joke had been a cruel joke.

He hadn't realised it then, but he had been laughing, _heartlessly_, at all of the dreams that the fashion icon had once dreamed up for the two of them. He had been laughing at everything that she had _ever _wanted; everything that she had given up for _Peyton_.

As those thoughts resurfaced in his mind, he felt anger course through his veins as he thought about the girl that his Pretty Girl had sent him off to. Peyton Sawyer; the _selfish _and _self-absorbed _woman that was currently in his home, pregnant with _his _child.

Nonetheless, Lucas found that he did not care about those facts at the current moment. The brooder was still trying wrap his mind around the fact that his fiancée had torn down her so-called best friend's world, as well as _his _world, all in one night.

In that one night, Peyton Sawyer had ruined the love and relationship that had existed between Boyfriend and Pretty Girl and she had _never _mentioned it. And Lucas _hated _his fiancée for it. She had ruined _his _life and had never felt the need to mention it to him. Not once.

_I hate you. You ruined my life._

It had been Peyton Sawyer who had torn down the relationship that he and Brooke had tried _so _hard to develop and she had done it in _one _night with _one _simple moment of clarity. It had been her simple declaration of love for _him _that had ruined his relationship with the fashion icon and he hadn't known about it until now. And it had been because of the lack of knowledge on his side that had prevented him from rescuing Brooke as he had promised. He had not saved her from the heartache she had felt during senior year.

_Sometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

That realisation caused him to pause. Had he _ever _saved Brooke back as he had promised he would?

His thoughts swirled around in his mind as he marched determinedly to the brunette's house. He did not even flinch when the skies above him opened up and pelting water droplets soaked his skin. He was too entranced with his thoughts to notice them, despite the cold that they were embedding into his very heart and soul, while one question continued to play over and over in his mind like a record on repeat.

Had he ever rescued her?

He knew that he had tried to be there for her after the attack with Ian Banks back in high school, but the brunette had kept insisting that _she _was fine and that it was Peyton had he should have been worrying about. Brooke hadn't wanted the tortured artist to go through what _she _had gone through; she hadn't wanted Peyton to feel the pain of being with someone that was concerned with saving someone else.

Lucas winced.

Then there had been the state championship. He had _ignored _the pain that had been in the former cheer-captain's eyes and ran right into Peyton's waiting arms. He hadn't once taken into account that maybe, _just maybe_, that the brunette had needed someone; someone to be there for her; someone that would put her first instead of Peyton Sawyer.

Nevertheless, even after _all _of that, it had been him that Brooke had went to when she had needed someone to talk to. After _everything_, it had been him that she had trusted with her most cherished dream. Long before anyone else, she had told _him _that she wanted to be a mother.

Lucas shook his head as he thought back to how much Brooke had wanted to be a mother; how much she had wanted that above anything else. As he thought back to those times though, he had to smile when he realised that he hadn't failed the brunette _completely_. Though the dream had been short-lived, he had been there for her when she'd had Angie. He had _helped _her.

A large grin etched onto his face as he thought about the sweet baby girl who had managed to take a hold of his heart, making him act as though he were a nervous father when she had been brought to the hospital for her heart surgery. It had been _him _that had sat beside Brooke in that waiting room, holding her hand tightly, while they waited for the news from the doctor.

Not that there had been any place else that he had wanted to be. For those short few months, the love that he had felt for that little girl, and Brooke, had infiltrated his every cell; every ounce of his body. Angie had brought him closer to the fashionista, strengthening their bond, effectively forcing him to feel the need to be there for her. It had installed the belief that he _had _to be there for his ex-girlfriend every step of the way.

And he _had_ been there every step of the way.

_Except _the end.

Mere hours after he had held Brooke in the airport while she had grieved the loss of Angie, he had called up her best friend, Peyton, for a spur-of-the-moment trip to Las Vegas so they could get _married_. Nevertheless, his dim-witted attempt at getting his life back on track had taken both of the blondes away from Brooke; the brunette whose heart had just been torn out of her chest.

He knew that _now_, but when he had been contemplating whom to call that day, he had never thought about Brooke or her feelings. He had never stopped to wonder how the fashion icon would respond to her two best friends, the two people she had needed most, leaving during her time of need and heartbreak.

Brooke must have _hated _him.

_He _hated himself.

But running away from all of his problems had been something that he had always done. It had been the reason that he had opted for running off to Charleston with his Uncle Keith and it had been the reason why he had joined his mother and Andy on their boat after being left at the alter by Lindsay.

He had been running then, just as he had been running when he had travelled to Las Vegas.

Even so, running off with Peyton had made sense to him because the two of them had been running away _together_. It had been something that had made sense to everyone who had heard the tale, simply because they were Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer and the two of them had _always _made sense; the two of them being together had made sense.

Everyone had been waiting for the two blondes to get together ever since the first moment that Peyton had stepped back into Tree Hill. So for him to impulsively call the tortured artist and run off to Vegas with her so the two of them could go and get married wasn't as out to lunch as some people would think. Lucas Scott was, after all, in love with Peyton Sawyer and had been as long as he or anyone else could remember; ever since he had seen her that day so long ago, with her tangled hair and skinny arms.

He had loved Peyton Sawyer from the moment he had learned that she was a lonely girl, despite the extravagant life that she had been living, who drew for THUD magazine in order to get her thoughts out; the girl who was so much like him that it could scare him if he thought about it too long. He had fallen in love with the girl who had always inspired him, whose _art _had always inspired him.

Peyton and him together had _always _made sense, not only to him, but also to everyone. They were two people who were so similar that it made them the one person that could understand the other as though they were trying to decipher their own thoughts.

Then, after years of hoping and dreaming, Peyton had become a part of his world. Her presence had suddenly become a permanent fixture in his life and all of Lucas' dreams had come true. He had Peyton Sawyer, and he always would because there was a bond between the two of them; a bond that they had instantly become addicted to.

Then, something had happened; something had changed.

_How many moments in life can you point to it and say 'that's when it all changed'?_

Comprehension struck through Lucas like a thousand blades through his skull and heart, forcing the blonde to accept the painful truth that he had been sidestepping for years. The clarity that meeting Brooke Davis had been one of his moments.

The brunette had popped up out of nowhere and had landed in his life, changing everything about it. She had showed him that it was all right to be yourself, that being a little crazy or reckless on occasion was fine. Brooke Davis had changed his life that night when she had been sitting in the backseat of his truck; Brooke Davis had changed his _world_.

_Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday, and I'm not sure she even knows it._

_Do I get to be part of this world?_

Lucas Scott let out a shaky breath as he finally reached the fashionista's house, it mere feet away from him as he stood in front of it, his mind racing while his heart continued to beat at an impossibly fast pace. Nevertheless, none of it compared to the pain that was swelling in it; pain that the brooder wanted to stop.

It was a pain that had waltzed into his very being when Peyton had told him the truth; a pain that had arrived at his heart's doorstep when he had finally learned the truth of where they had went wrong; where Boyfriend and Pretty Girl had went wrong.

Peyton Sawyer.

Brooke Penelope Davis had let him go because she had known that Peyton had loved him, and despite all of the times he had swore that he loved the brunette, Brooke had broken up with him because she had believed that he would be better off with the curly-haired artist. The brunette had believed that he would have _left _her _for _Peyton when he found out the truth.

The former cheer-captain had let him go because of Peyton's confession and the brooder had believed it; he had believed her; he had believed every lie that Brooke had ever told, every lie that had ever fallen from her perfect lips. Lucas Scott had simply sat there saying _sorry _when Brooke had said that she couldn't be with him anymore.

_I love you, Lucas, and I probably always will, but I can't do _**this**_ anymore._

He had been blind and had believed her lies, not wanting to believe that his Pretty Girl would lie to him. Instead, he had believed the more cruel of a story; he had believed and had accepted that Brooke had fallen out of love with him. And, in believing so, Lucas Scott had forced himself to stop loving her back and had moved on to Peyton.

Now Lucas had been shown the truth instead of the lie. Brooke had _never _stopped loving him, or Peyton, despite their betrayal of her and their annihilation of her fragile heart. Instead the brunette had stepped back and had loved them both enough to let him go and let him run off to Peyton; telling him it was okay.

_Go. It's _**okay**_, go._

As the thoughts continued to pierce through his heart, Lucas' face twisted in pain and disgust when he realized that both the former cheer-captain and tortured artist had made his decision for him. They had manipulated everything and it made him sick.

Brooke had sacrificed her own happiness for him and the curly-haired woman without him ever knowing.

From the moment that he had stepped out of his house, Lucas Scott had been angry with both Peyton and Brooke for making all of the decisions for him without informing him anything; without giving him a choice.

But that had been before Lucas had another moment of clarity.

They had given him a choice; _Brooke _had given him a choice. The brunette had given him the chance to make the decision without having to worry about anyone else. He had been single, technically, when it had all occurred and Brooke Davis had rigged it all; it had been her way of giving him a fair test.

_Who do _**you**_ want standing next to you?_

Walking up to Brooke's door, Lucas stopped and stared at the frame as he raised his fist; ready to knock on the brunette's door. He needed to see her; he needed to her the truth from _her_. Nevertheless, more than anything, Lucas wanted to know why she could not have been selfish just that one time.

**-x-**

Brooke Penelope Davis sighed contently as she stared blankly at the burning fire, its immense intensity reflecting back in her own hazel orbs as she watched the fire with a serene expression. She had finally managed to push everything from the past behind her; the love triangle from hell, Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott. She had _finally _let go.

She was finally free.

Despite the raging storm outside, the fashion icon was _finally _free.

It was an exhilarating feeling that her life had been missing; a rush that she hadn't felt since she had turned to her mother and said the two words that had not only _changed _her life, but had given her back control of her life. The simple words _"you're fired."_

Brooke breathed out as she contemplated what she should do next in her life. She could finally move on, leaving all of her baggage behind her, and… she blinked and glanced over at the door when she heard the sound of someone knocking frantically at her front door. Her hazel eyes drifted over to the clock and found herself frowning when she noted that it was long after midnight, a fact that had fear swelling up in her entire being like a balloon.

It was long past the time for late night visits. That much was for sure and, with that deduction, the fashion icon sighed. Something _had _to be wrong.

She instantly stood up and walked to the door, pausing when she got there, staring at it as if it were the doorway to her own personal hell. And, depending on who was on the other side of the door, there _was _a chance that that could be the case. Especially if it was whom she _thought _it was. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her that it was probably Peyton; someone who the fashion icon had _no _interest in seeing. Especially not now.

While on some level she _hated _the way that she and Peyton had officially ended things earlier, it did not change the fact that things had ended long before tonight. Neither side had been willing to admit to it though, for whatever the reason, and the two of them had been living in an illusion of what their friendship _had _been. The talking, the laughing and the _being their _for each other thing… all of it had been lies.

And it was a lie that the two of them could probably keep up, except the brunette's heart wasn't in it anymore. Merely because it didn't _matter _anymore. Two of them _acted _like friends, but she was tired of being the only one in the friendship _being _a friend.

And, while Haley and the others might step in and tell her that she was overreacting when they heard of the fight that had sounded between her and the blonde, saying that the brunette had driven her friend away when she had closed off after her attack, Brooke knew that she wouldn't waver in her decision. Her attack hadn't influenced her decision in the least. She had _moved _on from her attack, even though her best friend hadn't been there to help her through it as _she _had been there for Peyton in high school after the whole Ian Banks fiasco.

She had been there for the blonde, but the blonde hadn't been there for her. _Neither _blonde had been there for her. Peyton hadn't been there. _Lucas _hadn't been there.

The brunette blinked in confusion when thoughts of the other blonde popped into her head. He too was someone that she did _not _want to think of. Though it seemed childish and a little juvenile, the fashionista partially blamed Lucas Scott for taking her best friend from her.

It was no secret that it had been the brooder alone that had drove the wedge between the former cheer-captain and the tortured artist back in high school. And, now that the were older, he had done the same thing.

When the brunette had moved back to Tree Hill, she had been under the impression that everyone had gotten over the high school drama, but apparently, she had been wrong. It seemed as though Lucas and Peyton were back to being stuck in their _'woe is me' _attitude that had engulfed them during the second half of their senior year. But she refused to be sucked back into that vortex. She had moved on from all of the drama and petty problems that had ruled her teenage life… and there were more important things to life than being stuck in the past.

Brooke Davis had graduated from high school, not just in terms of her academic record, but in her maturity as well. She was _not _that girl anymore; she had grown up.

_High school Brooke graduated._

But it seemed as though Lucas Scott had _not_. Years had past and he was still walking around Tree Hill, jumping from woman to woman as though he was a gift from God, something that had the brunette scoffing at the thought. She had once been a victim of the charms of Lucas Scott and had fallen for him, but she had moved on from that when she had realised that there were _two _constants in the brooder's life. And those two constants were Peyton Sawyer and the need he felt to cheat on the girl he was with by kissing _Peyton Sawyer._

It had been with that revelation that the brunette had finally cast Lucas from her heart, at least in the romantic sense. She had continued to view him as a friend, but that was until he had returned from Vegas and looked _right through _her, not even asking if she was okay. He had _believed _her when she had claimed that she had fallen down the stairs; despite the fact that she had always been one of the most graceful ones in their group.

And when he had finally learned the truth, Lucas' icy blue orbs had held sympathy, but they had held none of the compassion that they had held the night that he had picked her up from the airport when she had lost Angie. And that had been the final straw. That look had haunted the fashion icon for months and, even now, she flinched at the memory.

Somehow, Peyton's Lucas had replaced the brooding blonde; the Lucas that the brunette had both wanted and needed. He was gone.

_I wanted the Lucas Scott from the beach that night; telling the world he was the one for me._

The fashionista sighed as the sound of the frantic knocks increased in volume, causing her eyes to drift over in the direction of Sam's room, knowing that if the knocking didn't stop soon that her foster daughter would soon come out to see what was going on. And that could _not _happen. She did not want Sam to be mixed up in the middle of her drama, but that did not stop her from hoping that it _wasn't _Peyton on the other side of her door.

Only a few _mere _hours had passed since the two of them had fought, and the fashion icon doubted that she would be able to handle a second round with the strawberry blonde.

"Look, Peyton…" Brooke began as she yanked the door open, blinking in surprise when she saw none other than Lucas Scott standing on her doorstep. She tilted her head in confusion, "Lucas?"

Though there had been a time when she had _expected _late night visits from the brooder, as of late, they hadn't been a regular occurrence. Actually, if she was being honest, it was something that hadn't happened since the blonde had reconnected with Peyton.

Yet, as she stared at him, Brooke could not help but frown when she noted that the author's entire body was drenched from the rain that was pelting down outside. _That _wasn't what had her attention though, it was the red-rimmed eyes that held nothing but pure determination that she had noticed immediately. After all, the red contrasted heavily against his blue irises.

She kinked her eyebrow in silent question until a thought dawned on her, causing her to snort in annoyance. Of course, it would take her ending her friendship with his fiancée in order for the brooder to make time in his schedule to leave his perfect Peyton and grace _her _with his presence. It was that thought that had the brunette narrowing her hazel eyes, bracing herself against the doorframe, as she refused to let Lucas into her house.

"What the hell do you want, Lucas?" She questioned irritably, looking at the broody man sceptically when he had the decency to drop his head in what looked like shame. She sighed, "look, if you're going to be all silent and refuse to talk to me then you should just leave and go home to Peyton because I have a teen inside and I was about to get some…"

"_Brooke_."

The broken tone to his voice caused the fashion icon to pause and lift her hazel-green eyes to meet his icy blue orbs. It was then that she saw what she had somehow missed moments ago when she had met his eyes. Instead of the fatigue and red-rimmed rings, she saw the _sadness _in his eyes.

"What happened, Lucas?" Brooke demanded, instantly panicking.

On the inside, she was debating on whether of not she _wanted _to know the answer to her question. There was a chance that his response could drag her back into the drama that she had _finally _freed herself from, and a part of her knew that her previous thought had to be true. Only the tortured artist could have Lucas Scott running to her door in the middle of the night, which meant that whatever it was, had _something _to do with Peyton.

The thought made her heart stop.

"Is it Peyton?" She asked cautiously.

Even with the events that had occurred earlier that night, she had promised to still be there for Peyton because, in a sense, the two of them were still friends. They just weren't _best _friends anymore. She had grown tired of living in that lie, but it was now that she remembered Peyton's condition and how she had been ordered to remain on bed rest. Stress was a major no-no for the label owner at the moment and the fashionista _knew _that there was no way that their argument had benefited Peyton in any way.

And, if Brooke was being honest with herself, she knew that such an argument as the one that they'd had would only worsen the artist's condition. She had seen how trying and tiresome a pregnancy was to a woman when both Karen and Haley had been pregnant during her senior year of high school and with Peyton's condition… the fashionista felt her eyes widen in fear.

She knew she would _never _be able to forgive herself is something had happened to the baby because of inappropriate timing. And it _had _been the wrong time for her to let her thoughts and feelings out. The baby was the only one that was innocent in this whole ordeal.

Nonetheless, as the brooder's worried and pained expression turned to one of pure anger at the mere _mention _of his fiancée's name, she felt herself become confused. The concept made no sense at all. As far as she had known, the soon-to-be-Scott was incapable of doing wrong in the mind of Lucas Scott… but apparently, she had been wrong.

Interesting.

Her voice softened. "Luke…?"

"No," he said forcefully as she he shook his head slightly, "Peyton's fine."

He wiped some of the water off his face as he tried to clear up his vision, attempting to look through the brunette's eyes and into her soul, looking for the girl he had once known. He had to fine _some _resemblance of her; he needed proof that his idiocy had not damaged her completely.

That was when he watched his ex-girlfriend kink a sceptical eyebrow at his words, causing him to beam on the inside, but not outwardly. He did not deserve that after all of the pain he had caused, but seeing the brunette's expression… it made hope flutter in his chest. He could feel his hope being re-awakened in his heart and he dared to _wish _that it wasn't too late.

"Physically, at least." He amended when he saw her rolling her hand, waiting for a better explanation.

Brooke let out a long, deep sigh as she leaned against the doorframe, frowning at the blonde in front of her while a weary expression became etched into her face. However, despite her calm exterior, her mind was working in overdrive. If there was nothing wrong with Peyton _physically _then there was only one reason that the brooder would be on her doorstep at this hour in the night.

She crossed her arms protectively across her chest at the thought, refusing to allow the brooder to walk into her house, or her heart. She had already kicked him out of her heart and she wasn't about to let him back in. She had done that three times before and had been burned, and Brooke Davis _learned _from her mistakes.

A sigh escaped her ruby lips. "Luke, if this is about the fight that I had with Peyton… I'm sorry if it stressed her out." She admitted, but she refused to say she was sorry for _fighting _with the strawberry blonde. "I know it's not good for the baby, but I had to…"

It was then that the anger returned to his icy blue eyes, burning fiercely.

"Brooke," Lucas said once again as he looked imploringly into the brunette's eyes, taking a deep breath. "I know it's late, and I know you have Sam…" he trailed off, cringing.

He knew it was late, but brooding was in his nature and he couldn't help but realise that he had known Angie _so well _but he had not taken the time to get to know Brooke's foster daughter _at all_. How had he gone so long, not realising how absent he had been?

He blinked, getting back on task. "But… can I talk to you?"

Brooke eyed him carefully, a sigh passing her lips as she nodded reluctantly and moved out of the path of Lucas Scott, allowing him into her home - but not her heart; _never _her heart. As he walked past her, she sighed wearily and shut the door, resting her forehead on the cool surface as she silently prayed that Sam had her headphones on this _one _night. After all, with their history, she knew that there was a possibility of the two of them fighting. Controlling her temper around the brooder had _never _been one of her strong points.

She took another deep breath and turned around, looking at the brooder expectantly, her eyes broadcasting how much she did _not _want to talk about this, or _to _him, at the current moment. Actually, she was pretty sure she would have been happier had it been Victoria that had shown up on her doorstep.

"So," she began as an attempt to rid them of the awkward silence, "what's the reason for this impromptu visit, Lucas?"

_Impromptu. _That word seemed to burn into the brooder's mind as he looked at Brooke in shock, only realising then just how far he had let the brunette drift away from him. A year ago, he would have been able to call the fashion icon one of his best friend's, but now their relationship was to the point that him visiting in the middle of the night was an _unexpected _occurrence.

What had happened to Broody and Cheery?

However, that wasn't the question that stuck out in his mind. He wanted to know what had happened to him; where was the Lucas Scott that had vowed to _never _let the fashionista go ever again?

_And if I ever got a second chance… I'd never let you go again._

"Brooke…" he began, awkwardly pushing his cold hands into his soaked jeans when he saw the unimpressed look that his ex-girlfriend was giving him.

Upon seeing that look though, the brooder felt the want to pull her into his arms, wanting nothing more than to tell her how sorry he was. That single look was almost enough for him to forget what he had come here for.

"We _have _established that Brooke is my name," Brooke said tersely, her eyes narrowing further than she ever thought possible.

And she _knew _that she was being short with the brooder, but after months of him breaking his promise to be there for her, she was tired of Lucas' lies. More than that, she was annoyed that he seemed unable to spit out whatever it was that he had came to say. Instead, he was acting like a skipping CD, repeating her name over and over but never moving on to the next verse.

Lucas' eyes widened slightly, the nagging feeling in his heart telling him that he was going to be on the receiving end of yet another one of the brunette's verbal strikes. He took a deep breath and allowed his eyes to roam her face, his eyes once again meeting hers; only her hazel-green orbs held a sense of strength and independence that he had not seen in a _long _time.

"I talked to Peyton," he admitted evenly, fighting to keep the hostility out of his voice as he talked about his angsty fiancée.

He licked his lips and prepared to continued, only to pause when he saw anger flash in Brooke's eyes. Bringing up the strawberry blonde _probably _hadn't been the best way to spark this conversation, but it was too late to turn back now. Besides, this conversation was _overdue_, almost six years overdue.

"She told me about what happened," he continued.

She snorted, "Figures she would go home and make herself the victim in _your _eyes." Brooke muttered to herself, her eyes rolling in annoyance as her hazel orbs roamed over his body, looking for any indication of where this fight was going.

What she saw worried her, though. The blonde's eyes were wild, almost as if he were trying to keep his internal storm under control, something that both worried and surprised her. After all, Lucas Scott had _never _been known for keeping his anger to himself. It was a trait that all Scotts had been born with.

"Luke, you obviously came here with your own conclusion of everything that happened," she said slowly as she wiped her emotion clear of her face.

She was attempting to keep the hurt out of her expression. After all, she had let the brooder go, but the fact that he had reduced his feelings for her so low that he did not care how she felt about her fight with Peyton killed her. Even if she was no longer blinded by the lie they had all been living in, she had been hoping that Lucas had still viewed her as a friend.

What had happened to the friendship that the two of them had built up the previous year?

She pushed those thoughts from her mind. "So I'm not going to stand here and defend my actions; not against _you_." She shrugged when he squinted his eyes in her direction, "you've already heard everything from Peyton."

"I want to hear it from you."

Those words threatened to floor the brunette as she looked at her ex-boyfriend in surprise, knowing full well that her emotions were written clearly across her face. That had always been a problem of hers; wearing her heart on her sleeve. It was one of the reasons that she had always been left so broken after she had been hurt. She had always taken everything personally; she still did.

She steeled her expression, refusing to let the brooder see the emotional turmoil that his presence was causing her. This was her test; it was her chance to prove to herself _and _to everyone else that she no longer held any feelings for Lucas Scott. After all, their relationship was in the _past_ where it belonged.

"Why? There's nothing to tell," she said simply.

Yet, as the words left her mouth, annoyance seeped into the blonde's expression and it was easy for her to see. Lucas had _always _been an easy read, especially for her. Reading him was as easy as reading a book… with pictures, at that.

She lifted a hand to massage her neck as she walked past him. "My story won't differ from Peyton's."

Lucas paused. _That _was what he was afraid of.

He was afraid that Peyton had indeed been telling the truth; that there _had _been something important that he had been missing all of these years. He was terrified that his Pretty Girl had been lying to him when she had claimed that their break-up senior year hadn't had anything to do with the tortured artist.

If her story matched up with the one that his fiancée had told him, it would mean that there had been something else that had drove them apart; something that went deeper than his inability to put distance between himself and the other blonde. If their stories matched up, it would mean that everything he had ever wrote; everything he had ever _believed_, had been nothing more than a lie.

And if that was the case, then the brooder _still _did not get it. In order for his mind to finally be able to grasp it all, he had to hear it from Brooke because he needed to know how she had _ever _doubted him; doubted the fact that he would have chosen her back then if he had only known the truth. He had to know how she had ever doubted his love for her. He needed to know why everyone had neglected to tell him about the events that had taken place that night; why _Brooke _had neglected to tell him the truth, opting for resorting to lies, instead of just being honest with him.

He ran his fingers through his wet hair. "Brooke," he said urgently, "just tell me what happened."

Brooke looked at him oddly. "_Nothing _happened, Lucas."

Something inside the brooder snapped. He _knew _the brunette was lying to him. He had known her for quite a number of years now, having been close to her since their junior year of high school, and he liked to think that he knew a few things about Brooke Davis.

_I do know some things about you, Brooke Davis._

He _knew _she was lying to his face.

He gritted his teeth together, his tone a lot more forceful than he had intended as he scowled at her. "Stop lying, Brooke."

"What are you talking about, Luke?" Brooke frowned, trying to figure out what the blonde was talking about. When had _she _ever lied to _him_? She rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't lie to you."

"_Bullshit_," the brooder hissed as he shook his head.

Brooke blinked and then blinked once more in confusion as she furrowed her eyebrows at the blonde. She had no idea what he was talking about but, upon seeing her perplexed expression, the brooder let out a hollow laugh as he began to pace her living room.

"I just want the _truth_, Brooke." Lucas said honestly as he continued to pace, "I want _you _to tell me the truth and, after everything _we _have been through…"

_We've been through a lot, me and you, and I wouldn't have made it through today or a couple other days without you._

"… I don't think that it is too much to ask." He continued, shaking his head as all of the lies resounded in his head. "I'm tired of being the last to know everything that's going on and I'm _so _sick of everyone fucking lying to me."

"_Excuse me_?" Brooke questioned, confusion in her every word as her signature eyebrow kinked, threatening to be lost in her hairline from the height that it had raised to. She tilted her head, "lying?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out what the brooder what was _accusing _her of lying about, but her mind was drawing a blank. She hadn't lied to him about anything lately. Hell, she hadn't _seen _or _heard _from him recently, minus their brief conversation at the hospital earlier… how the _hell _was she supposed to have lied to him if she never saw him anymore?

"Luke," she breathed out, keeping her tone as friendly as possible, "I'm _not _lying. Peyton and I, chances are, have the same story. The fight was pretty straightforward and…"

Lucas chuckled bitterly as he continued to march around the room, shaking his head in both disbelief and amusement as he continued to chuckle at the woman in front of him. The single word _unbelievable _seemed to run across his mind as he spared her a glance. Brooke honestly thought that he was angry that she had fought with Peyton?

"Luke, are you bi-polar?" Brooke asked simply as she watched as the blonde continued to laugh like a hyena in front of her, pacing the length of her living room over and over again.

Her mind was aching from trying to keep up with his rapid mood swings as his personality did a complete one-eighty from one minute to the next. What the hell was wrong with him? That was when her mouth formed an 'o' shape, her mind finally comprehending what was happening. Lucas Scott had finally snapped, it was official.

Lucas stopped in his pacing upon hearing the brunette's comment, sending her an annoyed look. Could she take _nothing _seriously? "Stop making jokes."

"Then start making _sense_!" She yelled back in annoyance, throwing her hands up in frustration, causing the brooder to narrow his eyes at her. Brooke released a long breath and looked back at him, "Luke? I am _not _lying to you, I…"

"When will you start telling the truth, huh?" Lucas shouted in anger as he marched towards the fashion icon, causing her to take a frightful step back when she saw the pure anger in his eyes. "I am _sick _of all of your lying and bullshit, Brooke!"

Lucas was _livid_, with her it seemed, and she was at a lost as to why.

Lucas stopped dead in his tracks when he caught her eyes, seeing the fear and confusion shining in his hazel-green eyes as she frowned at him, and that was when he remembered how she had jumped backwards… _away _from him. The mere thought of it made his heart clench. She _had _to know that he would never hurt her.

"Brooke," he said slowly, taking a deep breath to reel in all of his anger, as he took a step in her direction. "I'm not going to hurt you," he soothed, "I would _never _hurt you. You _know_ that."

Her eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of her head as all of his past lies rang in her head. A part of her knew deep down that her heart would not be in the state it was in now if he had just kept _one _of his promises to _not _hurt her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as all of his previous words seemed to echo in her mind, taunting her.

_I'm the guy for __you__, Brooke Davis._

_I give a rat's ass about you too._

_My heart is with __you__._

_I'd never let you go again._

_You and me? It means __everything__ to me._

_I wanna be with you, not Peyton._

She opened her eyes and looked at the broody expression that adorned the brooder's face, unable to force a smile as he waited for her to say something. But she found that she _couldn't _give him the comforting words that he wanted because she _knew _that she wouldn't have been in the state that she had been in earlier that day if it weren't for Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer. Not that it mattered anymore. It was in the past; in _her _past.

However, even with that fact, she was unable to stop the word vomit that escaped her ruby lips.

"_Puhlease_," she snorted in disbelief.

Nonetheless, all of her words fell on deaf ears as the blonde frowned, completely missing everything that she had just said.

"I just don't understand how _you _could hurt me like this." Lucas admitted as he looked up and saw her disbelieving look, sighing and dropping his head when he realised that his ex-girlfriend was under the impression that _she _hadn't broken _his _heart. "I thought we were… _closer _than that. Why couldn't you have just told me the truth, Brooke? Why lie to me?" He rubbed a hand over his face. "When I asked you what was going on when we were setting up for the wedding… why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

Brooke's eyes popped open as wide as they could go as she tried to process the words that had fallen from the blonde's mouth. She had heard them, but she couldn't believe it. Her mind had completely shut down and there was only one thought that continued to run through her mind… Lucas _knew_. After years of being ignorant of the truth, the brooder finally knew the truth; he knew the _real _reason that she had broken up with him.

_Brooke, I think I still have feelings for Lucas._

_You mean… you care for him as a friend?_

_No, I mean more than that._

Her breath caught in her throat when she realised what had happened. As he glanced up and his gaze landed on her, the brunette finally understood where all of his pain and confusion, and even his _anger_, had been coming from. Even though years had passed, he hadn't known the truth and now that he did, he was completely lost. Not to mention confused and angry. And she found that she couldn't blame him for that anymore because she had been angry at first too when she had learned of Peyton's true feelings for Lucas. It had been an anger that had only continued to build when later that day the brooder had let it slip about the second kiss, until all of the anger had turned to heartbreak and she had ended her relationship with Lucas Scott for good.

Though it was in the past for _her_, it wasn't for Lucas.

"P Sawyer told you." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, she did." Lucas nodded.

But upon seeing the weak smile that his ex-girlfriend had sent him, he staggered slightly and momentarily wondered if he had taken his heart medication that day. His mind was just processing what was being said and he couldn't believe it; he didn't _want _to because now, after spending over five years in the dark, he finally understood everything that had happened during senior year. He knew why Brooke had broken up with him and he now knew why she and Peyton had been at odds for so long.

And now that he _did _know the truth, the brooder almost wished that the two women had kept theirs truths to themselves. He wished that they had kept their mouths shut, allowing him to continue to live in his little bubble, because now he had no choice but to deal with it.

Then, just as quickly as it had died, his anger was back full force. It coursed through his veins and he couldn't believe that neither Brooke nor Peyton had mentioned what they had done; not once in over five years. They had kept their mouths shut, hiding the truth, only for the brunette to finally explode when it became too much for her and then Peyton had had no choice but to tell him the truth because it was the only way to get him to understand what was happening.

Knowing the truth didn't offer him any peace though, it only unsettled him. How was he supposed to deal with knowing that two of the girls he had loved had _lied _to him? He honestly did not think he could; he didn't know if he could let it go, no matter how hard he tried to keep his anger in.

He knew _now_, but it did not change the fact that he had found out far too late and there was nothing that he could do about it. Both the brunette and Peyton had made his decision for him over five years ago. And, though it was too late to do anything about it, he found that it was hard to keep in the anger that was boiling in his veins. They had _lied_.

Lucas took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to collect his thoughts before he looked up at his ex-girlfriend's face to ask the _one _question that had been burning in the back of his mind since his fiancée had told him the truth. And it was a question that only Brooke Davis could answer.

"But I want to know something, Brooke." He began, only to pause. "Actually, I _deserve _to know this much," he corrected bitterly as he stared into her hazel eyes. "Why did I have to hear it from _Peyton _five years later? Why didn't _you _tell me?"

Brooke opened her mouth, wanting to tell the blonde where her mind had been back then when she had lied to him, but doing so would have been revealing too much. It would have been letting him into her world all over again so she settled on an answer she could give; the only _safe _answer she could give.

She sighed, "because."

"_Because _isn't a reason, Brooke." Lucas pointed out, "you should have told me."

And, though it wasn't the _only _reason she hadn't told him, Brooke found herself shrugging her shoulders as more word vomit tumbled from her lips.

"I didn't think it would have made a difference," she breathed out, rolling her eyes when she saw how the blonde was staring back at her in scepticism. Brooke scoffed at him. "No matter which way you spin this, it doesn't change the fact that you and Peyton got together a _month _after we broke up. So wipe that damn look off your face, Lucas."

"Brooke…"

"No," the brunette interrupted, shaking her head, "don't look at me like that. You want to talk about how _I _should have told you and how it was _my _fault that we broke up? How about the fact that _you _were the one to sabotage us?"

"You were the one…"

"I wasn't finished! You once accused _me _of trying to ruin us," she chuckled bitterly, shaking her head as the memory flashed in her mind. Her hazel eyes locked onto him, "but it was _you_. Back then, you were the one that felt the need to lie to _me_; you never told me about that kiss, Lucas."

He groaned in annoyance. "Yes I did."

"Yeah, but it was only because I found out! You didn't tell me, you just assumed that I was mad at you that day because I found about the kiss; you didn't bother to ask me if that was why I was pissed at Peyton. Never once did you put me about your precious Peyton," she shouted as her entire body shook in rage. "So, you want to about _honesty_?"

Lucas opened his mouth to talk, but the brunette just continued on. "Then why don't you tell me where your conscience was when you were with Peyton, Lucas? _Hmm_? Did you even think that maybe, just maybe, that kissing Peyton…"

Lucas shook his head, yelling, "_She _kissed _me_, Brooke!"

"… was _wrong _considering you had a girlfriend who was scared to death because _everyone _she loved was trapped in that school?" Brooke finished, not even bothering to acknowledge his words. "Huh, Lucas? Did you?"

"Of course I did, Brooke!"

"Bullshit!" The fashionista raged as she buried her face in her hands, shaking in anger as she tried to calm herself down. Damn it, she was supposed to be over all of this.

"It's the truth!"

She took a deep breath and looked back up at Lucas, seeing the honesty in his eyes. "Even if it is?" Brooke smiled sadly, "it _still _doesn't change the fact that, in the end, you ran off to Peyton; it doesn't change the fact that it was _always _you and Peyton. You chose her _over _me."

Lucas narrowed his eyes at her. "Because _you _broke up with me, Brooke, and then you kept pushing me in her direction!" He shouted, reminding her of the part that she had played in him getting together with the artist.

Brooke snorted and marched past him, causing him to turn on his heel and follow her while he continued to rant. "Just because Peyton told you that she loved _me_, you let your goddamn insecurities get in the way and then you made my decision _for _me, Brooke! I had no choice in the matter!"

"Oh, that's rich!" She shouted back just as fiercely as she whirled around so she was standing in the middle of her kitchen, her face mere inches from his as she poked him in the chest. "I didn't _tell _you to run off too Peyton, Lucas. I told you that it was _okay _for you to go."

_It's okay, go._

"I _gave _you a damn choice," the former cheer-captain snapped, throwing the truth into Lucas' face, refusing for all of the blame to be placed on her. "Just because you didn't know all of the facts, does not change the fact that you had a choice."

"And it doesn't change the fact that you _lied _to me!"

"Like _you _haven't lied to _me _in the past, Lucas Scott!" Brooke screeched, disbelief lacing her voice as she jabbed the blonde in the chest once again, causing him to jump back in pain. "_You _were the one that said that us being together meant everything to you!"

_We're together now, right? You and me? It means everything to me._

"Do you remember that?" She questioned, "You told me that right after we got together the second time, only for you to run off and spend the day with Peyton because _she _needed you! But you didn't stop to think that _I _might need you. And then you said that you wouldn't hurt me again…"

_I hurt you pretty bad… I'm not gonna do it again._

"… but you did, Lucas." Brooke admitted, hating herself for letting him know just how much he had hurt her over the years. "So I'm sorry if I lied to you in order to try and say myself a _little _heartbreak the second time around."

Lucas stared at her in shock and incredulity as his mind flashed back to how the brunette had acted after their break-up senior year. It had been in that time that Brooke had drifted back into her old ways, drowning herself in booze and boys, doing everything that she could do in order to push away everyone that cared for her. And it was now that he understood why. She had been trying to bury the pain that she had felt as a result of being hurt by her best friend and the boy who she loved; the boy who didn't know her.

Even though he was pretty sure that he knew the answer to his question, the author took a deep breath and looked at the fashion icon carefully, preparing himself to ask the one question that would answer it all. Had it all been worth it in the end?

"Did it save you any heartbreak, Brooke?" Lucas questioned as he walked away from the brunette, leaning against the wall, staring at the brunette who remained in the middle of the kitchen.

"Because it didn't save _me _any," he breathed out as the two of them locked eyes. "Did it save _you _any?"

_Sometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

Brooke took a deep breath. "No."

Lucas screwed up his face in pain and ran a tried hand through his short hair, noting that the brunette at least had the decency to look at him with a guilty expression, something that his fiancée hadn't done. It was then that he let his head rest against the wall as he thought back over the past five years; he thought about the heartache that Brooke had went through, the tough position that she had been in the previous year when it came to Lindsay and Peyton, and then he thought about how she had been attacked in her store after he had run off with her best friend.

And it was then, in that moment, he had another moment of clarity, but he knew that this one was right. There was no questioning or confusion, not like he had been feeling the night of the Championship. This time it was just his feelings, not the thoughts and opinions that everyone had been shoving at him; this one was all _him_.

"I'm sorry, Brooke." He said simply, keeping his azure eyes trained on the ceiling as he shared his moment of clarity with the brunette standing before him. "I wish I could have rescued you."

_Sometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

_From what?_

_From all of it._

_Okay then, I will. _

Brooke frowned. _I wish I could have rescued you._ Those words continued to replay in her mind and hurt her a lot more than they should have, especially since she had let go. Nonetheless, upon hearing those words, her breath hitched in her throat as tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she shook her head in anger. She remembered the promise that she had made herself earlier and she intended on keeping it, she was _not _going to wait for someone to save her anymore and, above all, she was not going to wait for _Lucas Scott _to rescue her.

She was brilliant and beautiful and brave… she would save herself.

"I don't need you to rescue me, not anymore." Brooke said forcefully as she watched as the brooder's head snapped back down so he could look at her with wide eyes. She kinked one of her eyebrows at him, a smug smirk appearing on her face. "And I sure as hell don't want you to. I'm not that pathetic, _vulnerable _little girl that I was in high school that thought she needed someone to save her."

_I'm not that girl anymore. She's gone._

"Brooke…"

She groaned. "God, Lucas, why can't you ever concentrate on saving the girl you're actually with for once?" Brooke mumbled, more so to herself instead of the brooder, but he still heard her truthful words, regardless.

"You made your decision over five years ago and you made it again when you called Peyton and asked her to run off to Las Vegas with you." She pointed out as she looked at him with hate-filled eyes. "So why don't you go home to Peyton? She probably needs you," she shook her head, "and you always _did _have a thing for saving her."

"But Brooke…"

"But _nothing_, Lucas!" She shouted, "Peyton is your _fiancée_, she's pregnant, and on top of that? The guy she loves just did what he does best!" Brooke yelled as she looked at the blonde, her glare showing him all of the frustration that was building up in her heart.

He squinted at her. "What is _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means that you walked away because things got a _little _hard!" The fashion icon cried as she held her head in her hands, feeling a headache coming on as she tried to keep her anger at bay. "I mean, you walked away from me so easily that I honestly had to stop and wonder if you _ever _loved me…"

Lucas' eyes widened. "Brooke-!"

"… then Peyton told you that she loved you, and do you know what you did? You said 'oh' and walked away from her, and you walked away from her again when _you_ walked out of the hotel room!" She listed as her voice grew in volume and intensity with each word she said. "And do you know what? In spite of everything, Peyton is _still_ important to me and I will not watch you walk out on her, Lucas!"

"Pretty G-"

Brooke paused, finally letting all of her anger out. "No. Don't you _dare_, Lucas Scott, don't you fucking _dare _call me your Pretty Girl." She scowled, "because I am _not _your Pretty Girl anymore."

Lucas winced.

"And you know what? I don't want to hear another thing from you tonight, so get the fuck out." She snapped, her eyes narrowing into slits when she saw that the author wasn't moving. "_Now_, Lucas."

Lucas remained planted on the spot, debating on whether or not he should go, trying to read the former cheerleader's expression. He needed to know if it was what she _really _wanted but, just like it had been at the Championship five years ago, her face was unreadable. She had her mask up once again, unwilling to let him see her own personal wants. She was once again forcing him to make another decision.

He did not know what was the right decision this time around, though, and, despite the fact that he had said everything that he had went there to say, the brooder couldn't bring himself to stay. He had walked away from her before, it had ended up being the wrong decision, and he _refused _to make that mistake again. Therefore, instead of leaving, he remained where he was and stared at the brunette as the moments continued to pass; neither of them talking.

"Luke," Brooke sighed, "I said get out."

"But I just…"

"Lucas Scott!" The fashion icon burst, placing her hands on her hips, a scowl etching its way onto her face once again. "Will you just _leave_?"

"I _can't_," Lucas admitted softly as he shut his eyes, taking a deep breath, not at all surprised in the least that the fashionista was trying to shut him out.

He had ignored the brunette for months, not being there for her at all when her world had been crumbling down around her, and he knew that he deserved her anger. He would have shut himself out too if he had been Brooke. Hell, if he had been her, he would have grabbed one of the frying pans in the cupboard and hit him over the head with it by this point.

Yet, even though he knew all of that, the blonde couldn't bring himself to leave her alone as she had asked. He couldn't lose her; he was not ready to let her go.

_I wasn't ready to lose you yet._

_I'd never let you go again._

Brooke arched an eyebrow. "Why the hell not?"

"Because you need me," he breathed out.

"I don't need you anymore, Lucas." The brunette muttered as she turned away from him, her back facing him as she bit down lightly on her bottom lip.

She had let him go but that did not change the fact that he was not saying and doing everything that she had needed him to do a few months ago; back when the two of them had still been friends; back when it would have made a difference. Now though, the brunette was simply trying to keep herself from lashing out at the blonde again. She was more mature than that and she had Sam to think about.

"Yes, _you do_." He said vehemently as he walked up to his ex-girlfriend and gripped her by the arm, turning her around so she had no choice but to face him.

Their eyes immediately locked, icy blue meeting hazel green, as the two of them stated at each other in silence. Though they had been estranged for months, the two of them could feel the unmistakeable bond that existed between the two of them.

Where Peyton had been his mirror image in every way, the two of them having almost everything in common, it had always been the fashionista that had completed him in everyway. She was different from him in every way imaginable; the two of them like to separate pieces from the same puzzle, only whole when they were together.

Too bad he had not realised it until it was too late for them.

Brooke took a deep breath. "No, I don't." She said calmly, a flame burning in her hazel orbs as she looked at the blonde, trying with all of her might to refrain from saying something that she would later regret.

Though she no longer needed him to hold her together and, while they were no longer friends, she could not bring herself to hate Lucas Scott. There had been a time when he had made her the happiest she had ever been in her life and, for that, Brooke knew she would never hate him.

But there was one truth that she could not deny.

"And I'm starting to wonder why I ever did," she admitted honestly, remembering all of the pain she had let him put her through. "I'm better off without you."

Lucas felt his breath hitch in his throat as he watched Brooke in shock, noting that there was a certain conviction in her voice that even he had detected the moment the words had left her mouth. As much as it pained him, she had meant it when she had said those words.

_I'm better off without you_. Those words seemed to repeat several times in his mind as he tried to shake of the surprise that they had established in his heart. While the two of them were not as close as they had once been, he had never believed the day would come where the brunette would turn her back on him. Then again, after everything, Lucas had not believed that the brunette would ever turn her back on Peyton either.

_Peyton_.

As he looked at the brunette, a part of the brooder wanted to do as she had asked; a part of him wanted to walk out the door and go see his fiancée. He knew that Peyton needed him, and so did his unborn child, but in all his life, Lucas had never been so lost.

He would never leave Peyton and his unborn child; he would never be able to, not even with the lies that the strawberry blonde had told him but, at the same time, he could not help but feel the need to prove Brooke wrong. There had to be someway that she _did _need him; that they needed each other.

"You don't mean that, Brooke."

"Actually, Luke, I think I do." Brooke said simply, the confidence that had always surrounded her, shining in a way that the brooder had forgotten. "It's time for us to bury whatever the hell has been going on between the three of us since high school. I mean, you finally have Peyton, so why don't you just let the move on with her own life and find happiness now that you've found yours."

Lucas frowned at those words, not wanting to believe that the brunette had just referred to herself; to _them_, as a footnote. How could she believe such a lie? The two of them had been _so _much more than that. Brooke Davis had been so many of his firsts. Hell, she had been his first _love_.

"Brooke…" Lucas choked out, shaking his head, not wanting to believe that the brunette could doubt the love that he'd head for her so much. "It was _never _like that and you _know _it. I know you do. You were never just a footnote to _me_." He vowed.

Brooke turned her head away from him and he walked over to her, pain etched into his face. "I'll admit that our relationship wasn't perfect…"

The brunette scoffed at those words, knowing that much to be true.

"I mean, we fought half of the time and we never knew how the other was feeling," the blonde continued, a bittersweet smile strewn across his face. He sighed as she turned back to look at him, "I wouldn't take _us _back for anything in this world."

"Yeah?" Brooke questioned, rolling her eyes, "well excuse me for wishing that I could erase all of that pain." She scowled.

"But…" he began, causing the brunette to kink her eyebrow at him, his eyes squinting together in their usual broody fashion. "Okay, our love wasn't perfect, but it was _our _story and it was beautiful in its own way. It turned out to be a tragedy, but a lot of the greatest loves do."

"Lucas…"

"I loved you, Brooke." He continued before the brunette could interrupt him, "and a part of me still does; a part of me always will."

"No," Brooke said as she shook her head, "you didn't love me, Lucas. You were in love with Peyton and you were confused…"

That had to be the case because a part of her did not want to think that he had truly loved her. If he had, then it would mean that she had given up the brooder far too easily and, though she was over him, she knew that she could have loved Lucas Scott her whole life if he had just fought for her.

"No, I wasn't, Brooke. I wasn't lying to you when I told you that I loved _you_," the brooder insisted as she continued to shake her head. "Couldn't you tell that I loved _you_? Couldn't you hear my heart scream out for _you_, Brooke? When I was away from you… I was lost and confused," he rambled as he watched her walk away from him once again. "I love you, Brooke Davis, and I'll never be able to fully let you go…."

"_Shut up._"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to let you live in this lie, Brooke. It's not fair to either of us," he said as he crossed his arms. "I loved you, and you know what? I'm not going to let you think otherwise because it would be a _lie_."

"Lucas…"

"God, you _still _don't understand, do you?" He asked incredulously as he shook his head, his frustration written clearly on his face as he tried to get her to see the truth; the truth that he loved _her_.

But he saw the determination etched on her face and he _knew _she would never see things his way. "Fine," he relented as he met her eyes once more, his blue orbs daring her to argue with him. "Give me _one _example that even suggests that you were only a footnote in my story with Peyton."

The fashionista narrowed her eyes as she thought back to a couple of months ago when she had read the breakdown of her character when Movie-Brooke had attempted to do her _'signature move_._' _

"Brooke Davis' three favourite things in high school," she quoted, watching the scowl that was slowly engraving its way onto the blonde's face. "Sex, sex, sex."

The blonde narrowed his eyes as he thought of the words that Julian Baker had written about _his _Pretty Girl; words that he himself never would have said about her. There had always been so much more to Brooke Davis than sex, a fact that made him lock his jaw in anger.

"Julian wrote that," he pointed out, "not me."

Never him.

"Fine," Brooke huffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms across her chest in annoyance, knowing that the evidence she was about to spit out was a little below the belt. Not to mention the fact that it broke her heart _every time _she heard it. Nevertheless, the blonde had asked for it and she was determined to make her point.

"How about your first novel?" She continued with her questioning. "How about the fact that you were the one to write every damn word that was in it? Because, correct me if I'm wrong, but you were the one to write _'the realisation that we have always been meant for each other and every contrary has simply been a denial of the following truth…'_"

"Brooke…"

She didn't stop though, she kept reciting the words that had nearly shattered her already fragile heart into pieces the first time she had read them. "_I was now, and would always be, in love with Peyton Sawyer.'_"

Surprise etched its way onto the blonde's face and he struggled to find something to say; _anything _to say, that would be able to disprove what Brooke had just recited to him.

The fashion icon smiled smugly. "That sounds pretty damn clear to _me_, Lucas. Everyone who wasn't Peyton, including me, was just a denial of your love you her."

"No," the blonde said as he shook his head hastily, "Brooke…"

"Now that we have _that _cleared up," she interrupted, narrowing her eyes at the blonde who looked both flabbergasted and confused. The mere sight of it made her sigh. Though it had been years, Lucas Scott would _never _really get it.

"I want you to go," she finished with a shrug, "and go home to Peyton."

The brooder frowned at the mere thought of his fiancée, remembering how see too had lied to him for years; remembering that she had been the end of his relationship with the brunette in front of him.

"I can't, I can't face her Brooke." He stuttered, shaking his head. "She lied to me."

"Whether or not you forgive her isn't my concern and you know what? I don't care anymore." Brooke shrugged, shaking her head, not even bothering to listen to the blonde as he tried to talk to her. "I won't do it anymore. I'm done with you and with Peyton and with all of the drama that seems to follow the two of you around."

"I…"

"Now, you can either leave and back home to Peyton, because we both _know _that she'll be desperate enough to take you back, or you can make a mess out of your life." The brunette listed, presenting Lucas with the two options that she saw. "Just know that I won't be there to save you thins time. I _can't _be, Lucas… we're not in high school anymore. It's time to grow up."

"Will you just…"

"Just get out, Lucas." The fashion icon ordered firmly, eyeing him through narrowed eyes as she released a sigh. "And don't let the door hit you on your way out."

"Fine, Brooke." Lucas said finally as he sighed in defeat, turning away from her as he walked out of her house, not bothering to look back once.

He paused outside the door, wincing when heard the click of the lock, sighing when he realised what that simple action indicated. It meant that Brooke had officially locked him out of her life, and out of her heart, causing him to sigh and walk off to his new destination.

**-x-**

Brooke sighed as she looked out the peephole and watched the brooder walk away. She closed her eyes sadly as "_I love you, Brooke Davis_"continued to ring in her ears. She licked her lips and a sob finally escaped her lips, forcing the sobbing brunette to sink down to the floor as her knees went weak, no longer able to support her weight as she rested her head in her hands. She placed her head in her hands, allowing her sobs to overtake her body, as she tried to ignore the ache in her heart.

_There's an ache in my heart where Lucas used to be._

-TBC-


	4. Part IV

**AN: **Hello my loves, first of all, I would like to tell you that I am _so _sorry that it took me to add another chapter to this story. As bad as it is, I have been dedicating most of my time to my story "Fight This Feeling" because I like the idea of a happy Brucas with a Peyton who doesn't have a Lucas-stealing-face on. I know, I know, I'm dreaming because that is not going to happen now, but you would _not _believe how addicting it is.

Anyway, that story is _probably _going to be taking up a lot of my focus until it's done, mainly because my inspiration for this one has been lacking lately. I have the whole outline done up… but I just find it hard to actually get anything _written_. Therefore, instead of writing complete crap, I think it's best if I walk away for a while and then come back. And I will come back, I promise. This story will always be my baby and it will be finished… just have a little patience with me.

Anyway, drop me a little review at the end please. Believe me when I say that a review is quite the little pick me up to us authors.

* * *

_You should have lied_

_Cause your stupid mistake_

_Made my world crash down._

He was so sick of everyone in his life lying to him. It seemed as though all anyone ever did was _lie _to him and he couldn't help but feel bitter about it, especially when he thought of _when _the truths had come out. There was still angst and sadness, but his life had been going well for the most part, only for it all to be ruined with the hidden details his loved ones had kept from him. It almost made him wish that they had lied to him _now _instead of back then but, more than anything, it made him wish that everyone would just start _trusting _him with the truth.

His mother had lied to him for years. She had always claimed that his biological father had _never _wanted anything to do with him, failing to mention that Dan had wanted to be in his life after he had returned to Tree Hill. When his best friend had first started tutoring Nathan, Haley had kept it from him and had later denied that she had fallen for his little brother. Peyton had also lied to him repeatedly over the years, always claiming that she had never known why Brooke had broken up with him. He winced. Then there was the brunette, his Pretty Girl, the woman that had lied to him for over five years. She had always said that she had broken up with him because she had stopped _missing_ him; she had always claimed that she had stopped _loving _him.

All of it had been lies.

The brooder knew that he had been no saint. There had been many times over the past years where he had done things that he had regretted. There had been times that he had hurt the ones that he had loved and he had wished with all of his might that he could take it back, but the thought of the people he loved hurting _him _had never seemed to cross his mind. Had he been hurt when they had lied to him? Yes. Had he been broken hearted when the fashion icon had told him that she could no longer be with him? Yes, that one had hurt like hell, but he had never thought that the pain he'd endured had been intentional.

And maybe he was jumping to conclusions. He doubted all of his pain had been intentional because, in his heart, the brooder knew that there had to be a reason that Peyton had decided not to tell him the truth. He scowled as he trudged through the rain angrily, realising that he already knew the reason that the angsty artist had never bothered to tell him what had happened in high school. She had known that he never would have walked away from Brooke and into her waiting arms if he had known the truth.

She had manipulated him and Brooke had played along.

_Brooke_.

He shook his head as the image of a broken-hearted Brooke Davis appeared in his mind, gripping his heart as the anger he felt continued to blaze in his blue eyes. The brunette had been harbouring this secret for years, her anger towards the tortured artist building, but she had never felt the need to enlighten _him _on what Peyton Sawyer had done. She had kept her mouth shut for well over five years. And why? Because she had believed that he had loved the other blonde. She had not told him because she hadn't thought it would make a difference.

Which was complete bullshit.

Though it appeared that he did not know the fashion icon's heart as well as he thought he had, the brooder knew enough about her to know that the brunette had been lying about that. She had another reason for not telling him the truth, something that went beyond the fact that she had believed that he had been throwing himself into the wrong relationship by being with her. He knew that much. He knew all about her insecurities and he knew enough to know that, while they had definitely played a part in her decision, they had not been the _only _reason.

_I do know some things about you, Brooke Davis._

And someone _had _to know the real reason that had caused all of the brunette's worries. There had only been a select few people that his ex-girlfriend had trusted when the love triangle from hell had resurfaced, something that made his options limited. By the end of their senior year, the former cheer-captain had been close to a handful of people, and those people included; Rachel Gatina, who was only God knew where; Mouth, who would never betray the brunette's trust, not even for him; and Chase Adams, a person that the brooder had nothing against, but didn't feel all that comfortable talking to just the same. The former skater _was _Brooke's ex-boyfriend, after all.

Aside from those few people though, there were two other people that the brunette had been close too, and they were two people that the brooder trusted with his life. They had been there for him through _everything _over the past few years, one of them having even there for him his entire life. Nathan and Haley; his little brother and best friend. And, though they had always been there for _him_, they had always been there for the fashionista too because she was one of their best friends.

Nathan had known the former cheer-captain since childhood and the two of them had been there for each other every stop of the way, forming a bond after being raised in the same world by parents who hadn't known the first thing about _being _parents, and then there was Haley. Though the two of them hadn't originally gotten along, the former tutor had formed an unbreakable bond with the brunette when Brooke had taken her in, no questions asked, during the beginning of their senior year.

That was why their house was his next stop, his feet slowly bringing him to them while the fierce rain pelted on him, leaving body as cold and numb as his heart felt to the world around him. He was being irrational. Actually, it was _beyond _irrational for him to be so angry that the brunette and blonde had both lied to him since it was five years too late, he _knew _that, but he couldn't douse his anger. After all, it had been that single lie that had shaped his entire life and now he felt as though he was living a lie.

He needed Nathan and Haley.

Lucas knew that the couple were loyal to Brooke, but they were his family as well, and he needed them. He needed _answers _so he could get past this; he needed answers so he could find a way to fix this but the brooder had _no idea _what he could do. He had no idea what he could do to fix his relationship with his fiancée, nor did he know how to fix his friendship with Brooke. Hell, he didn't even know how he could help to mend the broken bridges that existed between Peyton and the fashionista, not that he was so sure that he would ever be able to fix that one. That was between Brooke and Peyton.

What he was concerned with was his relationship with Peyton and the fact that his fiancée had spent over five years lying to him. How had she been able to live with what she had done? Had she ever felt guilty over what she had done, or had none of it mattered to her because she had gotten what _she _had wanted?

The brooder shook his head, pushing all of his thoughts from his mind. His relationship with the strawberry blonde would have to be fixed, he knew that, but it was not the _only _relationship that he had to mend. He _also _had to worry about his friendship with the fashion icon… or lack thereof.

Why, oh why had he let his Pretty Girl drift so far away from him over the past few months?

He sighed as he walked up to the blue door of Nathan and Haley's house, staring at the door for a brief moment before he lifted his hand and knocked furiously on the door. He was numb to the world around him, needing someone to save him, not even caring when he realised that it _had _to be close to hitting around one o'clock in the morning. That was if it hadn't _already _passed such a time. Nevertheless, no matter the time, he knew that it was way past the acceptable time for late night visiting, but this _had _to be over today. It _would _be over today.

The blonde swore that it would be. No matter what the outcome would be, the brooder swore that he would find a way to solve all of this drama; all of the _heartache_, before a new day dawned. He had not known it, but these circumstances had been in the making for over five years and he now had to find a way to fix it all. And not just for his sake, for _everyone's _sake because, though they were not all related by blood, the people involved were his family.

Ever since their high school days, all of them had formed a tight knit group and had formed a family. Whether it was blood, marriage, friendship or _love _that linked all of them to each other, they _were _connected by bonds that had survived almost every trauma life could have thrown at them. They all formed a family. It was a _dysfunctional _family, but a family none the less.

"Luke?" Nathan yawned as he swung his front door open, wearing only a pair of blue pyjama pants, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

His mouth opened to say something else, but the cold rain caused him to shiver as the cold air hit his bare arms, a frown etching its way onto his face as confusion swept through him. Nathan felt his eyebrows crumple together in the middle of his forehead when he noted that his brother was drenched, his broody expression making him look both lost and confused.

"Man, it's _pouring _out here!" Nathan said loudly, ensuring that he would be heard over the pelting rain, his eyes glancing down at his watch. His blue orbs blinked in bewilderment, "what the hell?" He muttered as he looked back up at his brother, "it's one o'clock in the morning and… did you _walk _here?" He demanded.

Lucas chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah," he mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck, his nerves showing as he met Nathan's eyes. There was concern shining in his brother's eyes while confusion and helplessness seemed to reflect back in his own identical blue eyes. "Um, but I…" he trailed off, sighing, "but… is Haley home?"

His brother rolled his eyes. "Dude! It's one o'clock in the _morning_," he emphasized as he shook his head, "most people _are _home at this hour." Nathan pointed out as he gestured for his brother to get into the house. How the brooder could be so stupid, he did not know. It was bad enough that the blonde had walked there, in the pouring rain no less, but did Lucas even care about how much this would worry people? Had he forgotten about his heart condition?

"Get your ass in here before my wife finds out that you were walking around in the middle of the night," he muttered as Lucas walked past him, shutting the door before he turned around. "Because _that _would be ugly," the raven-haired Scott admitted as he took in the blonde's appearance. "Here… let me go get you something to change into," he shook his head, "the last thing we need is for you to die of the pneumonia or something."

_And because we'__re both gonna get pneumonia, but if you need to hear why I love you, I can go on all night._

The brooder squinted his eyes together as image of that night, the night he had given his second embarrassing declaration of love to the former cheer-captain, filled his mind. Lucas released a long breath and tried to wipe away all of his thoughts of the brunette that had lied to him, the woman who had betrayed him in the worst way possible because of who she was; because she was a person he loved.

That was one truth that he would never be able to deny. There was a piece of his heart that would always be reserved for the brunette and her alone. His old coach had once said that you never forgot your first love and that was true because he had not forgotten about Brooke Davis, nor would he ever. That had been one of the reasons that he had allowed for her to drift away from him over the past year.

He was with Peyton again and, despite how happy it had made him to be with his old flame, it had also forced old memories to resurface; memories that he hadn't wanted to relive. Brooke had slowly been pushing him away and, by being with the former bleach-blonde again, it had reminded him all too well of a time where he had broken the brunette's heart, a time where she had undoubtedly broken his heart as well.

It had taken him years to realise it, but Lucas _knew _that he could not have both the tortured artist and the brunette in his life at the same time, not when he was romantically involved with one of them. And, though his current fiancée had eventually begun to throw herself at him, everything had been _so _easy when he had been with Lindsay. It had been brief but, during that time, the three of them had all managed to be friends with each other.

There had been both hidden feelings and concealed secrets on all sides, but they had all been friends.

Nevertheless, as he had sat in the airport with those two tickets to Las Vegas, Lucas had known it would all change. The moment he had decided to call up Peyton and ask her to marry him had been yet another moment that he had _known _would shape his life for the years to come. It had not mattered then though, because he had been so sure that it had been the life that he had wanted.

"Give me the hoodie."

Lucas blinked as he came out of his analysis and his blue eyes glanced up, coming face to face with a tired looking Nathan once again. His younger brother was holding a towel and another hoodie, as well as a pair of sweat pants for his brother to pull on, and the expression on his face said that it would be pointless for the brooder to even _try _to refuse the items. Their lives; their _family_, had enough drama in it without adding anymore to it, and that included another hospital visit.

There was no denying that their family had spent enough time at the Tree Hill hospital over the years. It was to the point that the hospital may as well name one of their floors after the Scott family.

The brooder sighed and pulled his soaked hoodie over his head and handed it to Nathan, gratefully accepting the towel and change of clothes that his brother was offering him. He nodded and muttered a soft _thanks _as he walked over to the bathroom in order to change, cringing as he felt Nathan's blue eyes watching him until the blonde was out of the reach of the calculating gaze.

Lucas was not stupid and knew that there was _no way _for him to get out of the approaching heart-to-heart. He was not a complete idiot and knew that, though he was not quite as persistent as his wife was, Nathan would demand some answers as soon as the author exited the sanctuary that the bathroom gave him.

Nevertheless, the blonde knew that they would be answers that he would not be able to give his brother because they were answers that he himself did not possess, even though they were answers that he desperately needed. He chuckled bitterly at the thought. He knew that it was petty to be so worked up about issue that should have been put to rest a long time ago. He _should _be happy.

And he was for the most part, but the issues that had been brought to light were ones that he could not let go without proper closure. He had thought that they had all gotten it back in high school; back when it had mattered; back when the blonde could have made a difference with the knowledge he now had, but apparently, he had been wrong. They had all opted for burying it instead.

But those wounds had been re-opened and were now threatening to tear the members of that damned love triangle apart at the seams. Lucas shook his head at the thought. He knew that being this upset about all of it _now _seemed sort of ridiculous, and even a little pathetic, but he had to get all of it sorted it out. He was not going to wait for it to accumulate for _another _five years before they dealt with it.

He had to get all of his thoughts together so he could come up with some sort of solution. He needed to find a remedy before he would ever be able to face the brunette; before he would ever be able to face _Peyton_. The two of them had lied to him and he knew that facing either of them before he had his thoughts in order would only cause more problems. He just wished he knew _why _the two of them had lied to him.

Lucas shook his head as he closed the bathroom door behind him, peeling the wet clothes off his cold body, finding himself brooding as he pursed his lips together in thought. When the hell had things gotten _this _out of control? When had his life had started this downward spiral into the drama again, and how had he missed all of the signs?

He closed his eyes in thought. His life had been going great a little over a year ago. He'd had writer's block and his brother had been still suffering as a result of his accident, but that hadn't lasted long and he had been _happy_. He had been happy and in love with Lindsay, his friendship with the fashion icon had been stronger than ever and life had been _good_. Then the drama had seeped back into his life again, after being gone for _years_, when the tortured artist had realised that she once again wanted to be with him. The timer had once again gone off in her head and he should have known then that his relationship with his editor had been doomed.

_Let me ask you something, do you have like, an alarm in your head that goes off __**every time**__ I'm happy with someone else?_

He sighed and pulled the warms hoodie over his head as he stared at his reflection. His azure orbs narrowed in thought while his mind tried to pinpoint the exact moment that everything had gone _so _wrong. When Lindsay had left him at the altar, claiming the two of them could no longer be together, his life had hit a downward spiral but he had _still _been happy. Regardless of all the angst that had seemed to be following him around, the brooder had been happy and that happiness had come in the form of the cheery fashionista and Angie.

He had helped the brunette look after the baby girl while he had tried to get his life back in order and, it had not only strengthened the bond that he'd held with Brooke Davis, but it had made him happy.

And then he had made that fateful trip to Las Vegas eight months ago.

It pained him but he _knew _that it had been then that everything had began to fall apart, he just hasn't seen in.

When he had called Peyton Sawyer in the middle of the night eights months ago, asking her if she wanted to run off to Las Vegas to get married, had to have been the moment that had started the events that had led him to _this_. He should have known back then that he was rushing everything. His actions that night had been completely reckless and _so _unlike him because he had never been the type to be the spontaneous one in the relationship. His blue eyes squinted in thought. At the very least, he had never been the brash one whenever he'd been with Peyton or Lindsay. His impulsive side had always been left for the fashion icon because the brunette had always kept him on his toes.

He rubbed his hands over his face as his thoughts continued to plague his mind. How was it that the decision that had made _so much _sense to him less than a year ago had led to the disintegration of his entire life? How was it that, whenever he and the strawberry blonde were together, they only seemed to bring drama and heartbreak to their own lives as well as the lives of their loved ones?

Eight months ago… the brooder had been _so _sure that he had been correct when he had written his novel; _Peyton _was the one he was meant to be with.

Seven months ago… Julian Baker had walked into his life and brought with him his _own _secrets of the tortured artist that Lucas hadn't known.

Six months ago… everything had begun to fall into place and he had learned that his fiancée was two months pregnant, parenthood looming over the horizon for them.

Four months ago… he had felt a piece of his heart shatter when he had learned of Brooke's attack through a _newspaper _instead of hearing it from the brunette herself.

Three months ago… he had watched the producer he had dubbed _dick _form a relationship with Brooke, a relationship that had brought out a side of the former cheer-captain that the brooder had feared had died long ago.

And for the past two months, he had been left to watch the sad expression that crossed the brunette's face from time to time, unable to comfort her since their friendship had crumbled without him even noticing, all the while stressing over his fiancée's pregnancy and what would happen when his child was brought into the world.

They had all been events that had led him to tonight, learning the truth of what had happened during his senior year.

Lucas inhaled deeply upon hearing the hushed whispers outside the bathroom door; a knowing chuckle escaping his lips. He _knew _that both his brother and Haley were outside the door, discussing what had led to him showing up at the door at such an early hour of the morning, while they debated on what their best avenue of attack would be. They both wanted an answer out of him, but the two of them could not agree on whether or not they should just let the brooder go to them, or if they should outright demand answers.

The brooder grinned. It was no trouble to known which argument belonged to whom.

The whispers died and the blonde took another deep breath, moving to throw his wet clothes in the hamper that rested in the corner of the large bathroom, knowing that it was time to face the music. He had been in the bathroom long enough and he was going to have to face Nathan and his best friend at some point. And, if the revelations from earlier had taught him anything, it was that there was no point in delaying the inevitable. It only led to more confusion and heartache.

Lucas walked over to the door and yanked it open, frowning when he only came face to face with the sheepish expression of his brother. He scanned the hallway for his best friend before his eyes locked onto Nathan and narrowed in suspicion. "Where'd Hales go?" he questioned.

"She went into the kitchen to make some coffee." Nathan explained as he raised his voice several decibels to mimic his wife, "because it is an ungodly hour in the morning and we have no idea why we put up with you because you're always having some sort of issue." He sent his brother a grin and gestured for the blonde to follow him into the living room, "but we _did _decide to send you to Doctor Phil next time."

The brooder felt a grin etch into his face despite the situation, knowing that there was some truth in Haley's words, and soon enough he was chuckling alongside his brother. He knew that it was _not _a time for laugher but, as he plopped down on the couch beside Nathan, the blonde felt some of his anguish leave his body. Laughing truly was the best medicine.

"It would cause their ratings to go up," Lucas sighed.

"That's probably true," Nathan admitted, shaking his head. He turned his head to study his brother's expression, "I honestly don't understand how all of this drama follows you around, bro."

He had spent years wondering why drama always seemed to follow his brother around, but he had come up with nothing. All the raven-haired Scott _knew _was that there was never a dull moment in Lucas' life. First it had been the love triangle from hell, then the whole Dan-commiting-fraud thing, proving to the former cheer-captain that he was the guy for her, _another _love triangle, Peyton refusing his first marriage proposal, Peyton coming home, and yet _another _love triangle.

"Neither do I," his brother breathed out.

His head bobbed up and down in acknowledgment. "So," he said after a few moments of silences, "you okay, man?"

Lucas pursed his lips together in thought. _Was _he okay? Not really, no.

"That depends on your definition of okay, I guess." The brooder admitted as he ran a hand over his shaven head, a sigh emitting from his lips while Nathan squinted his eyes together in thought, almost making him look broody. Lucas released a humourless chuckle, "because from _my _definition of okay? I am anything _but_."

"I guessed as much," Nathan smirked, "because you look like hell, dude."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "_Thanks_."

"Seriously though, what is it?" Nathan questioned as he looked towards the blonde, noting how weary Lucas seemed to be.

From a glance, it almost seemed as though the blonde was tired and defeated, but it made no sense to the younger brother. Lucas was mere weeks from being a father, finally being given the family he had wanted his whole life, and he was _God-only-knew _how long away from getting married to the girl that he had wanted to marry since he was nineteen. Actually, considering how he had been fantasizing about Peyton since the eighth grade, it had probably been before the age of nineteen that he had started to plan their wedding. Either way though, the brooder had no reason to be unhappy. Not really. Unless…

"Is it Peyton?" Nathan probed, knowing that the artist's pregnancy had been a difficult one thus far. Concern engraved his face as he released a long sigh, "is she okay?"

The blonde opened his mouth to say something, only to close his mouth once again as his signature broody expression crossed his face. How was he supposed to know how distraught his fiancée was if he had stormed out before he'd taken the time to process her hysterical shouts? How was he supposed to know when he was starting to doubt if he had ever known the woman he'd always pictured as the _perfect _girl? Lucas sighed.

_Was _Peyton okay? Probably not.

Were any of them _really_ okay? Definitely not.

He blinked as his mind went over the events of that night all over again, grasping for a way to explain the situation to Nathan. His brother had probably been left in the dark too and was no more aware of the issue as _he _had been, but Lucas had trouble forming the words to explain it all. How was he supposed to explain it to someone else when he himself still didn't understand?

"I… she… Peyton's fine," he stuttered slightly, wincing at the lie he had just told, his face morphing into a scowl as he pursed his lips together once again. "I guess, anyway. I mean…" Lucas sighed in frustration, "she and the baby are okay."

_For now._

"Wait, what do you mean _you guess_?" Nathan asked in confusion as he looked to his brother, noticing for the first time that this was not the Lucas he had seen mere hours ago.

Lucas had seemed content with his life earlier and, despite the complications with his fiancée's pregnancy, he had seemed to be happily wrapped up inside his own little version of la-la-land. That seemed to have vanished though, and the blonde now looked as though he were drowning in his own torment without a flotation device in the near vicinity. Nathan frowned. What the hell had happened?

"Dude," he sighed, "when was the last time you _saw _Peyton?"

The brooder winced. "Sometime around twelve when I stormed out after we had an argument."

"Wait… _what_?" Nathan asked, perplexed.

Nathan frowned. Ever since the two blondes had gotten back together, everything between the two of them had seemed great. Perfect even. The two of them were moving quickly in their relationship, and his wife had expressed concern about it several times, but the raven-haired Scott had always brushed it off and claimed that Lucas and Peyton were simply making up for lost time. After all, the current events and developments between the two of them would have happened _five years ago _had the tortured artist simply accepted his brother's proposal the first time around.

But if everything was so perfect, why had the brooder stormed away after an argument? Why had the two of them argued in the first place? Had the two of them rushed into their relationship too quickly? Or was there a possibility that not everything between his brother and Peyton wasas happy and perfect as it had seemed?

All of the questions swam around in Nathan's head as he processed what he had just been told. He knew that sometimes what _seemed _so perfect to the outside was really anything but, he'd seen it for years when he'd been a child. People had always thought that his parents had led the perfect life, happy and in love, but that had not been the case for _years _before they had finally separated. And, even now when he saw the smile that graced his mother's face, Nathan wondered if the two of them had ever really loved each other.

So to hear that the relationship between Lucas and Peyton was _already _on shaky ground worried the younger brother. Drama followed the two of them around like a lost puppy, it always had, but the fact that it had been an argument that had led Lucas to his front door made him worry. If the brooder had stormed away from his fiancée after a fight then something was wrong, dead wrong.

The younger Scott just didn't know _what_.

"We had an argument, and I walked out." Lucas repeated.

"No, man, I heard you but… once again I say _what_?"

"Don't play innocent, Nate - couples fight." The blonde muttered as he turned to scowl at his brother, his cobalt orbs glimmering dangerously, daring Nathan to deny it. "I seem to remember you and Hales fighting several times over the years. A certain fight about birth control senior years seems to come to mind."

"Okay, okay, I'll admit to that." Nathan relented, knowing that pissing his brother off when he was like this was pointless. "But _dude_," he sighed, "this is you and Peyton. You two rarely fight."

Lucas sighed. "I know," he said as he leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees, burring his face in his hands. "And fighting was the last thing I wanted to do… I mean, I know it's bad for the baby," he sighed. "But I just… _snapped_."

"Ah," Nathan nodded, "the old Scott temper got the best of you?"

The brooder cracked a slight smile, a chuckle falling from his dry lips as he absorbed his brother's words. He knew that it should not be used as an excuse, but there was something in Nathan's words that rung true. _All _Scotts had a temper. Just as basketball seemed to have been, it seemed as if the mannerism had been fused into their biological structure, starting back with Royal Scott - probably even further back - all the way up the line to the two Scott brothers.

_Great._

The younger brother scowled at the blonde. "Dude, don't laugh," he said in a dark tone even though his eyes were dancing in amusement, happy that he'd managed to pull Lucas from his dark place. "You can laugh and refute it all you want, trying to deny its existence, but it _is _there. I'm telling ya, to the members of the Scott family, the temper has always been our major downfall." Nathan frowned, "that _and _our inability to shut up."

Lucas laughed.

"Just ask Hales how many times I've been kicked into the proverbial dog house because of it," Nathan continued with a wide grin on his face. "It is _not _pretty, dude."

Lucas blinked and both of his eyebrows rose far up his forehead in surprise. He had known that his brother and Haley had had their rough patches in the past, he had been a witness to several of their fights himself, but he was completely shocked, and amused, that it was sometimes over something as trivial as his brother letting his mouth run off. Not that he could say _that _part surprised him as much. Nathan had always had a smart mouth.

Lucas was obviously amused about his past nights spent sleeping on the couch, resulting in the raven-haired brother to roll his eyes, taking a deep breathe as he looked over at the brooder with a calculating look. He _needed _to know what had brought his brother to his doorstep so early in the morning. No matter how much his brother did _not _want to talk about it, Nathan needed to know. It was his family too and, if it were in some way fractured, he would help the older Scott fix it to the best of his ability.

Nathan sighed. "So, what happened with Peyton?"

The blonde's face instantly fell into a scowl. "It was nothing," his voice was monotonous, like a robot, and the only sign of his frustration when he clenched fists, showcasing white knuckles. "It was just a simple fight, and I'm…"

"… spouting _complete _bullshit at the moment." Nathan finished impatiently as he sent his older brother a look. "Luke, if it had been _just_ a simple fight, there is no way that you would have just shown up at my house at _one _in the morning." He narrowed his blue eyes, "just tell me what the hell happened, or so help me Lucas, I will call your mother!"

Lucas' eyes widened comically at the threat. "Nate…"

"I'm serious here, man. Either you tell me, or _Haley _for god's sake, or I will call your mother." He threatened honestly, "and I'm pretty sure that Karen wouldn't be too happy if we had to call her because, after a few months, you and Peyton were having issues. No matter what time it is where… wherever the hell they are this week."

Lucas did not answer.

"Is it the baby?" Nathan interrogated further, leaning forward on the couch as he tried to decipher what was going through his brother's mind as he slowly sunk into his 'broody-mood.'

He sighed. Though he was pretty sure neither had noticed him lurking, he had witnessed several of the fights that the couple had had about the strawberry blonde's pregnancy. Lucas and Peyton had only said there were complications, but neither had explained the full of extent of what could happy if the artist carried to term. But _Nathan _knew and, knowing what he did, he took a stab in the dark.

"I mean, I know it's a difficult pregnancy," he began, opting for _not _telling his brother how much he knew. Nathan frowned, thinking back to how good Peyton had looked the last time he'd seen her. "But… I thought Peyton had been doing a better recently?"

"It wasn't about the baby." The blonde admitted after a couple minutes of silence, wondering how much he should tell his brother, wondering how much Nathan didn't already know. "It wasn't even about the two of us, it was about Brooke." Lucas sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I learned some things."

Nathan groaned. "Man, I swear to _God _if the next words out of your mouth are _"__I__'__m now in love with Brooke__"_I am seriously gonna kick your ass!"

"We were _not _arguing because I'm in love with Brooke, Nate!" Lucas snapped slightly, despite the fact that he knew that he deserved it. There was no denying that he had a habit of jumping from one woman to another, leaving _someone _broken-hearted in the process.

Haley walked into the room holding two mugs of coffee. "I come bringing gifts," she said, frowning when she saw the look of confusion that her husband had on his face. "Here ya go, buddy," she sighed as she handed Lucas one of the mugs. "You look like hell, so yours isn't decaf."

Lucas accepted the warm liquid easily, nodding in appreciation as a soft _"thanks Hales"_ escaped his lips.

Haley pursed her lips together in thought as she took in the appearance of her best friend. Nevertheless, the blonde failed in catching her eyes so she looked over at Nathan, silently asking how severe this crisis was, but nothing in her husband's expression gave it away. She exhaled deeply, her brown orbs rolling in frustration. Weren't these heart-to-hearts supposed to have _ceased _once he picked Peyton? Hadn't that been the whole point behind her whole _stop hiding your heart _speech?

Upon deciding that it would be much more productive if she talked to her best friend on her own, the former tutor cleared her throat slightly, making a gesture to the door with her eyes. Almost instantly, Nathan stood up and offered his wife a slight smile.

"You know, I'm going to…" he trailed off as he racked his mind for some excuse to use in order to give the two space to talk but, considering the early hour, nothing came to his mind so he just shrugged, "… go _pretend _that I have something better to do." Nathan finished as he patted his brother on the back.

_Good luck_. He mouth to Haley as he left the room, quickly, wanting nothing more than to escape the drama. Nathan was concerned for the couple and he would be there for them, but there was only so much Lucas-and-Peyton angst that would could tolerate and he had reached his limit… _years _ago.

"So," Haley sighed once her husband was gone, "what about Brooke?"

Lucas smirked. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that eavesdropping was a bad idea? That sooner or later you would hear something you _didn__'__t _want to hear?"

"Nope. Mustn't have been listening that day," Haley said easily as she sat down beside the blonde, watching him carefully as he took a long sip of his coffee, even though he looked as if he could use something much stronger. He looked terrible. "Okay," she breathed out, "I'm worried. What's going on?"

Lucas sighed. There was no point in delaying it any longer.

"I know what happened with Brooke." He answered simply.

Haley frowned in confusion. What could the blonde have _possibly _learned of the brunette? Though it pained her that her friend hadn't felt as though she could confide in them right after it had happened, they had all been made aware of Brooke's attack by now, and they even knew the real reason that the brunette had signed everything over to her mother. They knew of how the she was considering officially adopting Sam… at least _Haley _did.

What more was there to find out about the fashion icon?

"What… what do you mean you know what happened with Brooke?" She questioned in confusion, fear swelling in her heart, silently wondering if she herself had missed something that had occurred in the brunette's life.

Haley fidgeted with her mug, guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. The two of them hadn't talked as much as she would have liked recently, but the two of them had made great strides since Brooke had started recovering from her attack. If something had happened in her friend's life, she would have known. She _knew _she would have. Brooke _was _her best girl friend, after all.

_Y__ou__'__re the girl that I love._

"Don't play ignorant, Hales." Lucas pleaded as his head dropped down into his hands, his voice hoarse. "I remember how close you two were senior year… it was part of the reason you made _her _Jamie's godmother." He sighed, "she told you _everything_ - things she wouldn't told Peyton _or _even me."

He knew if the former cheer-captain had told _anyone _about what his fiancée had done, it would have been Haley. The bond that had formed between the two while they had been living together their senior year was unbreakable and strong, possibly stronger than the bond that Brooke now held with Peyton.

The brooder sighed, closing his eyes. He was tired of talking around in circles with all of the people in his life, waiting for the truth but never quite getting it. Lucas knew he had only been given bits and pieces of the puzzle and he just wanted the truth. His voice was now too hoarse to shout and he was done fighting… all he wanted was the truth.

Haley scrunched up her face. "She _might _have," she responded slowly, watching her best friend's reaction carefully, looking for any indication of where this conversation was going. As she watched his shoulders drop anymore, she sighed. "Luke, I love you. But, despite how long we've known each other, I _still _can't read your mind. What's this about?"

Lucas sighed. "Why didn't anyone tell me that Brooke broke up with me because of Peyton?"

"_Oh._"

Her mouth formed a perfect 'o' shaped. Haley sighed, her eyes darkening as she remembered a time so long ago, shortly after her second wedding to Nathan, when the brunette had shown up at her door. Brooke had been uncertain, worried and, above all, the former cheer-captain had been struggling to hold herself together while her heart shattered inside her chest…

_Lying on her bed as she stared intently at the clock, wishing that sleep would claim her, the tutor rolled over onto her back to stare at the ceiling. His uncle was still in the hospital and Nathan was there as well, mostly to ensure that his uncle was okay, but nothing could stop the worry that was swelling up in her heart. _

_She sighed. This was _not _how her wedding day was supposed to end… well, her second wedding day, but that was not her point. She was supposed to being spending time with Nathan right now, relishing in their fresh start, not waiting for the answers to her endless questions. Since before they had given their speeches, something had been off about Lucas and Brooke, but what? What had Peyton hiding from all of them, only confiding in Lucas? What piece of the puzzle was she missing? And, though it was selfish of her to worry about herself when her friends were obviously going through something, she could not help but wonder how her husband would react to her possible news. Would he be okay with it? Would he freak out? Was she doomed to relive the same story that Karen had went through? _

_Haley frowned as the sound of the doorbell chimed through the small apartment, her eyes moving over to glance at the clock, blinking when she noted that it was after midnight. Nathan had a key, so it wasn't him at the door, but it was far too late for a friendly visit. Something had to be wrong but bad news, this soon after the accident, was the one thing that she was not ready to hear. Was it so wrong of her to wish that she could avoid whatever the issue was? Was it wrong of her to wish she could ignore all of the problems of the world, focussing merely on her own for a while?_

_Soft, hesitant knocks tapped against her front door and the petite blonde forced herself out the bed, sighing loudly as she made her way to the door slowly. If it had been her knocking on the door, she would have wanted someone to answer her, and she had too good of a heart to leave whomever it was out there alone. Besides, who was she to turn away a friend if they needed her?_

_Haley yawned as she opened up the door, blinking in surprise when she came face to face with Brooke Davis - a nervous looking Brooke Davis at that. She had to be seeing things. She rubbed her eyes to rid herself of sleep, tilting her head to the side in confusion, holding onto the doorframe for support._

"_Brooke?" She questioned when the cheer-captain simply stared at her in complete silence; looking as if she were struggling to keep herself from falling apart, effectively breaking the tutor's heart. For whatever the reason, the bubbly girl was both vulnerable and broken, and it was easy to see._

"_Look," the cheer-captain began, "I know it's late… but can I come in?"_

"_Sure," Haley assured as she moved to the side and allowed her friend to walk into the apartment, smiling slightly when the brunette muttered a soft 'thanks,' before the tutor led her friend over to the couch. The two of them sat down, the blonde offering Brooke a soft smile as pure silence descended upon them. "Tigger… what's going on with you?"_

_And that was when Brooke lost it._

_The brunette fell into her former roommate's arms, sobbing into the crook of the tutor's neck, allowing Haley to hold her as the gravity of the situation finally hit her. Brooke sobbed harder than she had ever done before - harder than she had the __**last time **__Lucas and Peyton had kissed while she had been with the brooder. This was different. This time they had known the pain such a betrayal would cause her… this time, it hurt even more._

_It had finally happened again. Though she had feared, yet prayed, it never would… it had finally happened. The two tortured blondes that she had loved more than life itself had went and broken her heart all over again. This time though, it had not been something as simple as the two of them seeing what things could have been like between them… this time love was involved._

_Peyton loved Lucas and, in turn, she had broken up with the boy that she loved. She had broken up with Lucas; __**her **__boy._

"_Brooke… what's wrong, girlie?" Haley asked as fear gripped her pounding heart. Her grip unconsciously tightened on the brunette as she held Brooke closely, running a hand through the cheer-captain's brown locks, hoping to soothe her friend in some way._

_Brooke was going to make herself sick if she did not stop sobbing and all the young wife wanted was to be there for her friend - for the brunette to trust her enough to let her in, to allow her to be there and comfort her. The tutor was no idiot, hence why she had been dubbed Tutor-Girl by the girl in her arms, and she knew that the cheer-captain hated for __**anyone **__to see her vulnerable. It would take a lot to get the cheery girl to break down this badly._

_The cheer-captain held onto her former roommate for dear life. "I broke up with Lucas," she whispered sadly, her voice threatening to break as her sobs returned once again. "He doesn't-Peyton loves-kissed-I can't…"_

_Haley frowned as the words sunk in, closing her eyes. Her friend wasn't making any sense but she had picked up on enough to know that the two blondes had somehow found another way to break the brunette - and the tutor hated them for it. They had done this once before and Brooke had managed to build herself up again, but Haley feared what would happen this time. She felt her own heart shatter as the cheer-captain continued to sob. Brooke did not deserve this, not from them - not from anyone._

_She released a deep breath and swore in that moment that she would never betray Brooke in such a way. The cheery girl would always have a place in her and Nathan's lives, in their __**family**__, Haley swore she would. And, as she looked down at her stomach where her baby was growing, as far as she knew anyway, she chewed on her bottom lip._

_Brooke would always be a part of their family. Whether it was a girl or a boy, the baby would need their Aunt Brooke, just as the tutor knew she would always need the cheery brunette and… as the tutor hoped, Brooke would always need them as well._

"_It'll be okay, Tigger." She promised as she closed her eyes, thinking of her possible pregnancy and the heartbreak that her friend was going through, "we'll get through this."_

Haley blinked as she came out of the memory, gazing at her best friend, knowing from how distraught he looked that he had only just learned what had happened. He had never known that Brooke had thrown in the towel, walking away from their relationship, because of something that the artist had done. The fashion icon had never _directly _came out and told the teacher what it had been, opting for never bringing it up again after that night though the former tutor had tried, Haley had always known that there had been something more than the second kiss.

"So you know." It was not a question.

"Yeah. I know," Lucas breathed out as he sent his best friend a pointed look, "I know _now_."

Haley sighed. "Luke…"

"Why did everyone decide that _I _didn't deserve to know any of this _then_?" The brooder asked, his voice soft as it broke, all of his frustration finally showing through as he placed the mug on the coffee table. "It affected _me _too," he whispered as he ran his hands over his tired face. "Why didn't anyone bother to let _me _know that Brooke left me because of Peyton? Why didn't anyone tell me that she left me _for _Peyton?"

The auburn-haired woman reached over to hold Lucas' hand. "I didn't know," Haley admitted softly, her smile softening when the blonde looked up at her sadly. "I mean, not for _sure_. Brooke never came out and told that it was the reason, I just… I just assumed that it was."

"But you decided not to share your thoughts with _me_."

"Luke, you can't be mad at _me _for this. This is between you and Brooke, and Peyton too. I'm not defending what either of them did, you deserved to know, but did you ever stop and wonder _why _they did what they did?" She questioned as she tried to be the voice of reason. "I mean, maybe they had a reason."

"Brooke said that she did it because she didn't think it would have changed anything: me knowing." Lucas chuckled bitterly as he shook his head, "she said that I was in love with Peyton and that, by being with her, I was just hiding my _true _feelings." He sighed, "you said she never came out and told you… but Hales, you said that you _guessed _that it was the real reason." His red-rimmed, blue eyes on his best friend. "That means there were signs - ones that you saw and I missed. I knew Brooke inside and out, how did _I _miss it?"

"We're often blind to the things we don't want to see, buddy." Haley said softly as the blonde held her hand tightly once she placed hers on top of his, wishing that this was not happening to him _now_.

Her best friend had finally chosen what he wanted, he had finally chosen to be with the artist and the two of them were about to have a family and get married. The teacher closed her eyes sadly. Why did it seem as though the past _always _resurfaced, bringing painful truths with it, at the most inconvenient times?

"But I loved Brooke!" The brooder croaked.

"But you also loved Peyton, Luke!" The teacher argued, "you can't deny that."

"But I wasn't," he argued back steadily, finally willing to stand up for his heart.

It was about time that people understood how _he _had really felt back then. Lucas was _so _sick and tried of people saying that it had been the tortured artist all along, acting as if Brooke and Lindsay had never happened. His relationship with them _had _happened and nothing would ever be able to erase his pasts with them, nor would any amount of time with the artist be able to erase the love he had felt for them.

"When Brooke broke up with me," Lucas breathed out painfully, "I was in love with _her_. Not Peyton!"

_I love __**you**__, Brooke. I wanna be with you, __**not **__Peyton._

"But you went to Peyton eventually," she pointed out simply, frowning when she heard the phone ringing.

What more bad news could they possibly hear tonight? Haley sighed, debating whether she should stay at her best friend's side or if she should get up and answer the phone. She opened her mouth to say something to Lucas, only for a slight smile to cross her face when she heard her husband call out and say that he would get it.

She looked back at the brooder, continuing cautiously, "and you love Peyton now, right?"

Before the blonde could answer his best friend, the raven-haired brother walked back into the room with the cordless phone still in his hand, looking back and forth between Haley and his older brother. His face had paled, looking almost ghostly white, and the two best friends felt their hearts freeze as they looked at him. Something was wrong.

"Nathan?" The former tutor questioned, standing up, a frown as she searched Nathan's eyes for the reason that had him looking so detached from reality as his blue eyes hopped from her to Lucas. "What is it? What's wrong?" Haley insisted.

Nathan ignored his wife, his eyes finally resting on his brother, "Luke…"

**-x-**

Sam walked out of her bedroom and into the living room, holding a stack of papers carefully in her hands, her heart pounding in her chest as her ears picked up on the sound of someone crying. Her eyes went wide and she searched the room, frowning when she caught the sight of the brunette leaning against the wall, sobbing heavily. This was new and the teenager had no idea how to react. Ever since she had moved in with her foster mother, she had never seen _this _side of the fashionista. Brooke had always been strong and unyielding… she had never broken down like this - not even when Julian had left. Not even when she had faced her attacker.

"Brooke?" She called out slowly, apprehension lacing her voice.

"Sam?" Brooke questioned as she glanced up at her foster daughter, attempting to calm herself down with a calm breath as Sam ventured further into the room, walking over towards her.

The fashion icon almost winced at how she must have looked to the teenager, detestation settling in the pit of her stomach for allowing herself to get this worked up. She was a _mother _now for heaven's sakes; she was not meant to breakdown this easily. _Strong and loving_. That was how Karen Roe had shown her to be a parent… not by being an emotional wreck every time something bad happened.

Sam crouched down in front of her foster mother, her heart breaking when she saw just how broken the fashionista truly was. "Hey," she greeted simply, bobbing her head slightly as she tried to think of _something _she could do.

She had seen the signs earlier, they had clearly been visible, but she had accepted for what it was because Brooke had brushed it off. Instead of pushing the older brunette to open up to her, something the fashion icon had done to _her _countless times, she had decided to leave Brooke be. Sam winced, regretting doing such a thing now that she had seen how much heartache it had put her foster mother through.

Brooke had been there for her from the moment she had stepped into her house, even when she hadn't deserved it, and now that the fashion icon had needed _her_, the teenager hadn't responded. Sam chewed on her bottom lip unsurely, guilt bubbling up in her heart. She knew that she was the child in their relationship, but there was only a seven-year age difference between the two of them.

Sam leaned in and used the pad of her thumb to wipe away the tears from the brunette's face, chucking at the unlikely fact that this was actually happening. She had long ago closed her heart, opting for not caring for others because they _never _gave a damn about her, but she was there now caring for someone other than herself. Her lips twitched up into a slight smile as she mentally corrected herself; she was caring for her _family_.

"You're such a _mess_," she pointed out as she reached over and grabbed a tissue, handing it to the woman who seemed hell bent on wiping her tears away with the back of her hands. Sam pursed her lips together in thought, "do you know how much money I would get if I sent a picture of you looking like _this_ to the media?"

Brooke scowled. "I'd _kill _you, Samantha!"

Sam scoffed as she moved to sit beside her foster mother, crossing her legs. "No you wouldn't, _Brooklyn_."

Her comment resulted in the anticipated eye roll from Brooke, the teenager offering a slight smile as she watched the fashion icon wrap her arms around her petite frame, as if to shield herself from whatever it was that was causing her pain. A pain that Sam wished she could somehow eliminate. From what she had seen over the past few months, Brooke was the last person that deserved heartache. The dimpled brunette had a kind heart and deserved happiness more than anyone else the teenager had ever met.

"My name is Brooke," the fashionista commented as she wiped away the remainder of her tears, staring out in front of her, "_not _Brooklyn."

Her hazel eyes focussed on the tiled counters that were in her line of sight as she contemplated on how to explain her current emotional state to her pseudo-daughter. Lying seemed like the way to go, but the brunette knew that it had been lying that had gotten her into this whole mess to begin with. And she _did not _want to lie to Sam.

"_Suuuuuuuuuure_," Sam teased lightly, trying to keep the small talk going for as long as she could. "Don't own up to it."

She knew that if there was any chance of her getting anything out of the older brunette, then she needed Brooke to calm down, and she could not attack her. The fashionista was just as defensive as she was when it came to her heart. It was something that they'd had in common since she had first moved in with her foster mother, and still did, but thanks to the former cheer-captain, Sam was slowly learning how to trust and love. All she needed was for Brooke to trust _her_, which the teenager knew she did on some level, but she did not want secrets to exist between the two of them. She wanted Brooke to be honest with her.

Brooke rolled her hazel-green eyes at her foster daughter's comment, opting for not offering a response as she continued to stare out at nothing, lost in her thoughts. Everything had changed in one night. She had once again sold her soul to the devil, who was also known as Victoria Davis, and her friendship with the artist had diminished to the point that she no longer knew where they stood. Were they even friends anymore? And then, to top off what had already been a _wonderful _night, the brooder had learned the truth of what had happened senior year and he was _now _sorry that he had not been able to save her like he had promised he would.

_I'm sorry._

_Yeah, me too._

It seemed as though he and his fiancée were always sorry for something or another.

_At least some things never changed._

"What have you got there?" Brooke asked quietly, glad that her strength had finally returned to her voice, her eyes drifting down to the folded pieces of paper that the teenager had in her hands. She smiled slightly, "are they love letters from your boyfriend, aka, _Jack_?"

Sam scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "No," she said, not knowing if it were the best time for her to bring up the papers she had found, opting for tucking them away at her side. "Why were you crying?" She questioned as she turned the tables on the brunette, smirking. "Did you break a nail?"

"Nope," the fashionista shook her head, "it was nothing."

"You know," she drawled, "for someone who is hell bent on getting me to clean up my act by getting me to stop stealing, swearing and _lying_," Sam emphasized as she sent a pointed look at the fashion icon. "_You _sure lie a lot."

Brooke sighed. Her foster daughter had hit the nail on the head with _that _comment. She had lied to everyone. She had lied to Peyton, to Lucas, and to herself. Her hazel orbs narrowed at the thought. Maybe it was time for her to clean up her own act and become the person she had once been. After all, what had happened to the girl had had been honest and blunt, always giving her sincere opinion even when it wasn't wanted?

"Yeah, I know." Brooke sighed as she chewed on her bottom lip, the mood around them becoming serious. It felt awkward, even though they'd had their share of them even though most of their days were filled with playful banter that bordered fighting, but it felt _right _at the same time. The fashion icon sighed, "I just find it easier to pretend that nothing's wrong instead of facing it."

Sam frowned. "Now _that's _unhealthy."

And it was.

"_Soooooooo _I met the thing you call a mother," she added randomly as she tried to create a more comfortable atmosphere between the small family, a smile gracing her face when she heard the snort that had emitted from Brooke's mouth. Sam bobbed her head up and down and looked inquiringly at Brooke. "She scared me; by the way, did I mention that?"

"Yeah," Brooke smiled, "I think you did."

"I didn't know what you meant… I didn't understand it." Sam sighed, smiling softly at the frowning brunette, "when you said that you knew what it was like… that you had a parent that ignored you and one that resented you," she elaborated. "There's still this part of me that doesn't _fully _understand, but I think I get the basics of it now. She didn't want you," she said, talking about Victoria, "just like mine didn't want me."

Brooke shook her head. "Just because your mother gave you up doesn't mean she didn't want you, Sam. There are things you have to take into account… and there is one _big _difference between your mother and mine. My _mother _might not have given me up like yours did, but she did abandon me," she winced as she remembered how she had practically raised herself, "at least yours gave you a chance to find a family. Mine didn't give me _that _luxury; she just opted for throwing cash at me."

Sam scoffed. "Look at where _that _got me though, jumping from foster home to foster home."

"It did bring you to me," the brunette pointed out as she placed her hand on top of Sam's, "and I like to think that I'm a kick ass mom."

_Clearly, I've updated Sam's foster living environment._

_Clearly._

"Eh, you're not _that _bad." Sam teased as she shrugged slightly, a genuine smile crossing her face as she looked down at Brooke's hand that was intertwined with hers. "The double standards are bringing you down a few notches though."

"Not _too _far I hope."

"Like I said, you're not _that _bad."

Brooke glanced up, her hazel orbs met warm brown, and the brunette knew that her decision to adopt Sam was the right one. At least, her _want _to adopt the teenager was right. She still had not managed to approach the subject with Sam, mostly because she did not know _how _to approach it, not without cornering her foster daughter. But things between the two of them had been good lately, the only real friction had been when the fashion icon had decided _not _to uproot the two of them and move to Los Angeles, but this was not something to be taken lightly. This was her becoming a _mom_, it was Sam gaining a family - it was the _both _of them gaining a family.

She removed her hand from Sam's and sighed. She needed to talk to Sam about this and, if she was cleaning up her life and clearing out her closet of skeletons tonight, wasn't it just as well to sort this out as well? That way when she woke up the next morning, nothing from her past was holding her back.

"Sam? There's been something that I've been meaning to talk to you about. Right now probably isn't the best time since I basically just ended a fifteen year long friendship, not to mention that my evil bitch mother is back in town," Brooke rambled, causing the teenager to burst out laughing while the fashionista licked her lips. "But… um… I've been thinking about this for a while now, but I don't want you to feel pressured, okay? If it's not what you want, then that's okay, it won't change anything between us but…" she sighed in frustration. "What I mean to say is that I've been wondering if you would like to…?"

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

Brooke sighed and glanced over at the object that was interrupting her conversation with her foster-yet-hopefully-soon-to-be-adoptive-daughter. She scowled at the phone, a pout working its way into her face. Did the universe _really _hate her that much? Did the powers that be _really _have to interrupt her now, just when she had worked up the nerve to bring up the subject with Sam?

"I swear if that's Bitch-toria calling me at this hour she can go _BabyBrooke _herself, and I'm leaving the company all over again." Brooke muttered as she climbed to her feet, "Because _this_? This is inhuman… although that would explain _so _much." She admitted as she headed over to the phone, ignoring how Sam was laughing at her as she continued to grumble. "Stupid unfeeling, heartless bitch."

"It's a good thing _you _don't have a swear jar," Sam interjected as her foster mother sent her a look, bringing the up to her ear while she glared at the teenager. "If _you _were deducted for every time you swore, all I would have to do is get you in a room with your mom and my education would be paid for. Not to mention? I'd have money to _burn_. Life would be freaking _sa-weet_."

_Samantha!_ Brooke mouthed as she rolled her eyes, releasing a breath before she turned her attention to the person on the line, "hello?" She greeted.

"Is this a… Brooke Davis?" The monotone voice asked.

The fashion icon glanced over at the clock, double-checking the time, only for a frown to appear on her face. "Yes, this is she." She responded quickly as fear gripped a hold of her heart. It was long past the _acceptable _time for a late night phone call, and the only people that really had her phone number were her friends, but they would have known beforehand whom they were calling. What the hell was this about?

"Who is this?" Brooke continued, chewing on her bottom lip, "is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, I'm calling about a Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton Sawyer. Just hearing the name made her annoyance level spike as she thought back to the strawberry blonde that she had no intention of talking, let alone _seeing_, for at least a few days… if not weeks, or forever. Why was it whenever she finally made the resolve to cut the tortured out of her life, some unanticipated incidence occurred, thrusting Peyton back into her life?

Brooke sighed. Though she was pissed as hell, the words she had spoken to the strawberry blonde earlier, as well as her concern, overpowered her anger in that one moment. She could look past it all-long enough to find out what had happened… right?

_I__'__m still your friend. I__'__m going to be there for you._

"What's wrong?" She blurted out, "is she okay?"

"Miss…" the woman on the other end began, avoiding the question skilfully, a sigh falling from her lips, "how quickly can you get to Tree Hill General?"

_The hospital?_

"Wait… she's in the _hospital?_" Brooke demanded, her hazel eye narrowing, pursing her lips together in frustration.

She was not in the mood for this, but she still wanted some answers. Over the years, she had often claimed that she was not book smart, but the brunette knew she wasn't stupid. She _knew _that something had to be wrong if the strawberry blonde was in the hospital. She just didn't know _what _was wrong and, factor in a woman that was refusing to answer her question, and then you had a pissed off Brooke Davis on your hands.

The brunette sighed, "is she okay?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that on the phone," the woman replied, "but you were listed as one of Miss Sawyer's emergency contacts…"

Brooke almost groaned. _Of course Peyton would have her listed as an emergency contact_.

"…so, how fast can you get here? Others are already on their way and I can have a doctor waiting to explain her condition to you and…"

Her _condition_? Damn it! Hadn't Peyton been in the hospital earlier for this very reason?

Brooke narrowed her eyes even further, "her _condition_?" She repeated dangerously, anger building in her voice, "what do you mean her condition? Are you referring to the complications with her pregnancy?"

"Miss…"

"No, no don't do that. I have already had a bad enough day," Brooke admitted firmly, "I had a fight with Peyton and my evil bitch of a mother showed up in town so you know what? I've had enough of _this. _I don't care who you are, what you job is, I don't even care if you are _good_ at it," she listed angrily. "But I want to know what is wrong with Peyton and, damn it, I want to know _right now_! So, if you can't give me answers? Put on someone who can!"

Sam winced as she watched the fashionista snap at the unfortunate woman on the other end of the line. "_Someone _needs to cut back on the caffeine," she murmured, pitying the poor woman who was receiving the brunt of Brooke Davis' anger.

The fashion icon scowled at the teenager, silencing Sam with one look, her eyes narrowing in warning as the woman began talking once again. Maybe this time she would get her answers.

"Miss, I understand that you're upset, but if you were to come down here then I can assure you that someone will be…"

"You're _still _not answering my damn question." Brooke pointed out, an acrimonious tone lacing her voice, making the teenager pray that the woman would just tell the fashion icon what she wanted to know. She would never tell her foster mother, but she was _mean _and _scary _when she was angry.

"What is wrong with her?" The brunette continued.

"Just come down to…."

"_Ugh_!" The brunette groaned, letting her head fall back, glaring at the ceiling. She took a deep breath, growling at the woman, "listen here you self-righteous, conceited, _cunt_. I want to - _mmphh._"

The teenager rolled her eyes as she covered Brooke's mouth, grabbing the phone from her foster mouth with her free hand, placing the phone next to her ear. Sam released a deep breath and sent the brunette a warning look before she began talking to the woman herself.

"Hello?" She questioned unsurely, offering a small smile when the woman started to complain about the _colourful _names the fashion icon had just aimed her way. "Yeah I know... she can be a bit rude…" Sam admitted with a shrug, "but she's just worried about her friend. Can you just tell me what's wrong with her then?"

"I can't tell you what the-"

Sam almost laughed as she held the phone at arm's length, smirking when she heard the exasperated woman blare at her. Her foster mother _sure _knew how to piss people off and, once the yelling ceased, the teenager took a deep breath and slowly brought the phone up to her ear once more, wary of the voice that she was sure was about to blare through the phone once more.

"Oh, okay," she said in relief when the woman spoke calmly. "We'll be there soon."

_Click._

The teenager threw the phone over onto the couch and turned to look at Brooke, scowling at the older brunette, feeling sorry for the woman who was more than likely distraught after her conversation with the fashionista. Sam clicked her tongue is disapproval, "was there _any _need of being so rude?"

"She got what she deserved," Brooke defended through gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes. "She should have just told me what I wanted to know."

Sam sighed. She knew that there would be no changing her mind. Brooke Davis was one of the most determined, not to mention _stubborn_, women that she had ever had the pleasure of meeting. If the fashion icon truly believed that she had been right, there would be no convincing her of otherwise. That only left _one _question…

"So," she began hesitantly, "are you going to go?"

"Yes."

Sam blinked in confusion. "You are?"

Brooke let out a deep breath. "Yeah, I think so… don't really intend on forgiving her," she admitted because she did _not _want to be cheated out of her right to be pissed off, "but there are too many years of friendship there to ignore. She hasn't been the best over the past six years, but there have been good times - she's still been there," whenever she had not been with the brooder, "and she's still my friend. Not my _best _friend but… the last thing I need is a guilty conscience if something happens to here and I wasn't there."

The teenager walked over and tossed Brooke her keys. "I'll come with you," she promised, winking at her foster mother when she frowned at her. "You need to be there for your lesbian loved and I get that, she might need you, but _you _might need someone too." Sam sighed, looking down at her feet, "and I wanna be that person."

She had grown up a lot over the months that she have been living with the fashion icon, something that everyone had slowly been seeing more and more as each day passed. Sam, the lonely teenager that had always used her bitchy attitude to keep people away, was finally more comfortable and more willing to let people in. Haley James-Scott had been right; all she had needed was a stable living environment. She was now ready to form life-long relationship - she did _not _want to keep people away anymore. And that included Brooke.

"Okay," Brooke murmured as she headed towards the front door, "I'll go get the car ready."

Sam nodded, but said nothing in return, as she watched her foster mother walk out the door. She chewed on her bottom lip and the papers she had been holding in her hand since she had entered the living room were now weighing her down like a five-hundred pound weight. It was something that she needed to talk to Brooke about, something that she was _pretty sure_ the fashion had been about to bring up with her… but it could wait for now. There were other things that were more important at the moment.

She took a deep breath and glanced down at the adoption papers in her hands before she threw them onto the counter.

Brooke _wanted _to adopt her. The fact had the teenager feeling more confused than she had in a _long _time. It was too much to process in such little time. It hadn't sunk in yet, but she would admit that she had _loved _the thought of having a family a couple of months ago. When Julian had asked the fashion icon, and _her_, to go to Los Angeles with them, the thought of leaving Jack and Tree Hill had scared her to death, but she had wanted it. The thought of having a normal, traditional family had floated into her head and she'd found herself liking the idea. But the Brooke had refused to leave with the producer and the teenager had believed that all hope of having a traditional family was gone.

But she could _still _build a family with the brunette.

If she wanted to, she could still build a family with Brooke. Whenever her foster mother finally approached the subject with her, it all up to her where the two of them went from here. She could have a family with the brunette, as well as the beloved family that consisted of Naley and their plus one, _if _she wanted to.

Sam shook her head upon hearing the brunette honk the car horn, grabbing her iPod before she ran towards the door, her confusing thoughts swirling around in her mind. The two options bounced back and forth in her head until she got to the _Escalade _and climbed in. It was not the time to be worrying over the possibility of having a family. Brooke needed her now and everything else would have to wait and, _hopefully_, it would give her some time to figure out what she really wanted.

-TBC-


	5. Part V

**AN: **You are not imagining things, I assure you. The inspiration that fuels me to write for "Fight This Feeling" has been lacking lately and, instead of writing yet another one-shot to add to my collection, I decided to add another chapter to this story. One day I was re-reading what I had written and realised that I truly loved this story… and then the motivation hit me like a ton of bricks. Hence the chapter you are about to read. A lot of you were upset about the whole Peyton-drama thing, but I'm trying to keep this as true to the show as I can, and we all know that dear ole Mark would have worked her into it _somehow. _And if it seems like I'm glossing over everything that happened - they're only doing that for the sake of Peyton and the _baby_. Everything will be back to normal in a , writing bitter and non-lovey-dovey Brooke&Lucas isn't exactly what I'm used to anymore, but I hope you like it anyway and, if you have the time, I hope you leave me a little review at the end. It would _totally _make my day.

* * *

_Where was your conscience when you were with her?_

_Couldn't you hear it scream out?_

She chewed on her bottom lip as she headed towards the hospital, her knuckles going white as she tightened her hold on the steering wheel. It took all of her self-control to _not _press on the gas pedal harder. Her heart pounded in her chest, one thought running through her mind - she _had _to get to the hospital. Pressing the gas harder would be so simple but it was the teenager that was sitting beside her in the passenger seat, bobbing her head up and down while she listened to her iPod, which kept the fashionista from relishing in her _want _to go faster.

Why had she been so harsh on the strawberry blonde? She had known about her condition, she had known that the artist had been ordered to bed rest and to avoid _all _stress, yet she had been unable to stop herself from snapping at Peyton. She had held it in for over five years, why couldn't she have held it in a little longer? Why hadn't she tried to stop her friend as she fled her boutique?

She had seen the tears and had known that her heart had been breaking, but she had been so _proud _of herself in that moment, happy that she had finally stood up for herself, that she had ignored how her conscience had been screaming out at her. Peyton had deserved everything that she had said to her and the brunette did _not _regret saying any of it but, if that was completely true, then why did she feel as if she were moments from being sick? Why had guilt settled in the pit of her stomach since she had talked to that woman from the hospital?

_Because you know what could happen_. Her conscience seemed to taunt her as she stared ahead at nothing, her teeth letting go of her bottom lip as she pursed her lips together in thought. She had not known about her friend's condition until Peyton had been brought into the hospital earlier, but the brooder had explained it all to her and she knew _now_.

_Brooke Davis, you are not crying. It's okay, I'm okay._

_That's not what Lucas said._

She blinked as tears swelled up in her eyes, angry tears that were aimed at herself for being so stupid, for being so _selfish_. Peyton had never known how much all of the past ache had still plagued the brunette - how could she have known if the brunette had never told her? - and the fashion icon felt horrible. Though the strawberry blonde was not her best friend she was still important to her and, if something happened to her or to the unborn baby, the she knew that she would never forgive herself.

Her hazel eyes darkened as she remembered the last thing she had said to the strawberry blonde…

"_I don__'__t know how to fix this, Brooke.__"_

_She glanced over at her childhood best friend with a calculating expression, knowing that the tortured artist truly did want to fix the friendship that the two of them had shared. It was impossible for them to get it back though, and both of them knew it even though the strawberry blonde seemed to be unable to accept it. Her hazel eyes rolled on reflex, knowing that it was nowhere near the response that her former best friend had wanted. Peyton had wanted forgiveness._

"_Maybe it__'__s not about fixing it,__" she commented softly__._

_Peyton__'__s face contorted into an expression of complete worry, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked at the fashion icon with pure apprehension etched into her features. The last thing she wanted was to lose her best friend. The two of them had made it through so much together - from absent parents, dead mothers, and two love triangles from hell - there was no way that things were about to end between them now. Not like this._

"_Then what are you suggesting? We bury it?__"__ Peyton asked with uncertainty, fear lacing her words as she tried to assure herself that she was not losing the brunette__'__s friendship, unaware of the fact that she had already lost the fashionista a long time ago. __"__Because I hate to break it to you, Brooke, but if this fight showed you anything, it definitely showed you how burying it doesn__'__t solve anything. We need to be honest with each other from now on.__"_

_She shrugged at those words. Her lips pursed in thought as she pondered over what the soon-to-be Scott was saying to her, wondering if it were possible for her to be such a good_19/3/12_ friend to Peyton anymore. It was an odd feeling, but she suddenly felt as if she wanted to put herself first for a change._

"_Or,__"__ she began, __"__we could accept our relationship for what it is.__"_

"_Brooke, we can work this out. I know you, and you want to work this out as much as I do; I know you do._

"_I__'__m not an open book, Peyton, and I__'__m never going to be.__"_

"_Can__'__t we go back and__…__ pretend this never happened?__"__ Her former roommate asked hopefully, __"__can__'__t we go back to before?__"__ She pleaded with the brunette, __"__back when we were best friends and you were happy for me because I was getting everything I ever wanted?__"_

"_I told you once, Peyton.__"__ She said firmly, __"__before is gone.__"_

"_Does that mean that we can try to be better?__"__ Peyton asked._

"_We already tried that, Peyton, and you didn__'__t exactly come to par.__"__ The brunette said wretchedly._

_Peyton sighed. __"Then w__hat does that mean?__"_

_"__It means that I learned a long time ago that the only person I can count on is me,__" she said simply__, a sigh falling from her lips. __"__Now, I__'__m still your friend. I__'__m still going to be there for you and I__'__m going to go to your wedding and give the most kick ass Maid of Honour speech that I can come up with__…"__ the brunette trailed off, __"__but that doesn__'__t mean I can forgive you, Peyton.__"_

"_Brooke__…"__ Peyton began, only to stop when the fashion icon shook her head in protest, angry tears in her eyes. _

"_No.__"__ she said, her gaze lifting up so her eyes met the artist__'__s, hazel meeting bright green. __"__You tore my world down,__"__ she accused, __"__you could have lied - you __**should**__ have lied, and right now, I cannot be in the same room as you.__"_

"_But Brooke we__'__re best friends.__"_

"_But I__'__m not sure I can be such a good friend to you any longer, P Sawyer.__"__ She commented, noticing how Peyton was trying to cover the hurt and then added, __"Because I'm not sure if you were ever mine. __Now get out of here, Peyton, please.__"_

_And the blonde did exactly that, no words of protest falling her lips this time, opting for nodding her head sadly before she turned and rushed out of the boutique; the door slamming on the way out._

She swallowed deeply as the memory faded from her mind, her shame bubbling up from her stomach, threatening to fall from her hazel orbs as hot tears. Peyton probably thought that the brunette hated her, but nothing could be further from the truth - the fashionista had merely been pissed off and _tired _of overlooking everything that the tortured artist have ever done to cause her pain. She did _not _hate Peyton.

The hospital finally came into view and she pulled into a free parking spot, turning off the ignition as she let her head fall against the steering wheel, releasing deep breaths as she tried to get her thoughts together. Peyton _had _to know that she didn't hate her, right?

"Brooke," Sam began gently as she reached over to place a comforting had on the brunette's shoulders, "everything is going to be okay."

She nodded and lifted her head before she offered her foster daughter a slight smile, knowing that the teenager did not buy it at all. "Yeah," she breathed out and closed her eyes.

Her manicured hands reached down to unclick her seatbelt as she released another long breath. She _had _to do this. The brunette knew that she would be turned into the scapegoat and the brooder, in his state of worry, would blame it all on her. She knew all of that but that did not erase the fact that she had to do this. She had promised Peyton that she would _still _be there.

"I… just…" she whispered brokenly as she blinked away the tears, "I really need her to be okay."

Sam nodded as she unlocked her own seatbelt and followed her foster mother. "I know," she whispered more so to herself, nodding her head. "And she _will _be."

She _had _to be.

**-x-**

He felt his best friend tighten her hold on his hand as the doctor continued to explain to him just what had happened to his pregnant fiancée. Her water had broken and he hadn't been there for her. After _months _of promising her that their baby was the most important thing in his life - more important than the failure of his second book, more important than the failed movie - he had not been there for her.

The doctor had assured him that _stress _had not been the cause of the early delivery that they were currently preparing the strawberry blonde for, but the brooder knew differently. It was his fault that Peyton and his baby had been rushed in this early. If he hadn't snapped at her, if he had only stopped when he had heard her hysterical shouts…

"Lucas," his best friend said gently, gaining his attention as she tightened her hold on his hand a little more.

"What does this mean?" He questioned brokenly, glancing up the doctor, his words almost dying in his throat. "Is she… are _they _going to be okay?" He asked worriedly as fear gripped his heart, threatening to destroy him.

He blinked in confusion as the doctor went on to explain the situation to him, claiming that they would do all they could for his fiancée and his daughter. His _daughter_. He felt his throat go dry as the doctor said that they were preparing to bring Peyton to a delivery room and someone would be up to get him in a few minutes, giving him the chance to calm down and get his thoughts together.

He almost chuckled bitterly as the doctor walked away with his clipboard in hand. How was he supposed to calm down when there was a chance that his whole world was about to completely crumble around him? He licked his lips, one thought on his mind - it was _not _supposed to be like this.

He had _finally _made his decision. He had chosen whom he had wanted to be with and, for _months_, he had believed that he had made the right choice. _Peyton _had been the right choice and then, in the matter of one night, everything had fallen down around him and he no longer knew which way was up. He was drowning.

He closed his eyes as he struggled to get his emotions under control before a nurse came and got him, but his thoughts were running rampant in his mind. They _needed _to be okay. Peyton and their baby, _his _child, needed to be okay. His baby girl was the only one in this situation that was innocent, because blame could be placed on each member of that damned love triangle, and she _needed _to be okay.

His heart rate went up as he thought about his child's mother, remembering how he hadn't told Peyton that he loved her. He had snapped at her upon hearing her tearful confession, unable to believe that she had kept something of _this _magnitude from him, only to awaken her to the fact that the world did not revolve around her. It had been something that the strawberry blonde had needed to hear, but suddenly his was not feeling too proud of his words.

"Luke, buddy, are you going to be okay?" Haley frowned and gently positioned herself in front of her best friend, "do you need me to get you something?" She questioned, her gaze softening when she saw how distraught he seemed. "They're going to be okay…"

"You don't know that!" He hissed at her, jerking his hand free of hers as he walked away, running his hands through his short hair. "You don't understand if they… if she…" he trailed off as all of his anger died out, sadness filling his voice, "it'll be _my _fault."

"_No_," Haley insisted as she shook her head vigorously, "this is _not _your fault." She said firmly as she reached up to cup her friend's face in between her hands. "And I'm not going to let you believe that, you did _nothing _wrong."

But he _had _done something wrong. He had been the one arguing with his fiancée earlier, despite the fact that she had only been realised from the hospital, and he had walked away from her. He had put himself above her, and their child, and that had _not _been what his mother had taught him. It had not been what _Keith _had taught him.

He had to find some way to fix this. He could not fix everything that had gone wrong between them, and the brunette, without his fiancée around to help him. He needed Peyton in his life, he always had because he had never been able to walk away from her, and he could not start now. There had to be a way for them to get past all of the secrets and lies because, after everything, their story _had _to have a happy ending.

_I can't accept that our story doesn't have a good ending._

_Our story already has the greatest ending - no matter what - because we're together._

"Lucas? You have to let it go," his best friend said softly. "Because they need you, your _family _needs you."

The brooder looked up and nodded. "I know," he answered, releasing a deep breath as he locked eyes with his best friend's, "but I…" he trailed off when he heard someone calling his name. His blue eyes drifted over to the voice and he frowned, "yeah?"

"We're ready for you now," the nurse said briefly, offering him a slight smile as she waited for him to follow her.

"_Go_," Haley urged him as he met her eyes, a gentle smile on her face as she reached up and hugged him. "Nathan said he would call your mom and update her as soon as _I _updated _him_," she chuckled, "so I don't want you worrying about anything other than them right now, okay? You can deal with everything else later."

He nodded his head and pulled away, blinking when the fashionista and her foster daughter came into view, his lips pressing into a thin line as he gave her a slight nod. His mind was reeling but he had no time to talk to her, nor did he have time to explain anything to her and, more importantly, he had no time to ask her _why _she was here. Had she not expelled him and Peyton from her life earlier? Was her being there a sign that there _was _a chance for them to repair the broken bridges?

Haley pursed her lips together and gave him a knowing look.

"You go and be there for _your _girl," she said firmly as she glanced over at the fashionista, "and I'll be there for _mine_."

**-x-**

Lucas ran his fingers through his hair as he walked aimlessly through the hospital.

He felt as if his world was collapsing around him once again and he could no longer breathe. His daughter was perfectly healthy and the fear that had settled into his heart months ago had finally faded. But, just as always, another tragedy had been looming over the horizon just waiting for the opportune moment to pull the rug out from in under him so he fell flat on his ass.

Peyton had slipped into a coma after their daughter had been delivered. The brooder had no idea what the _exact _medical explanation had been, mainly because his mind had stopped processing the words the moment the doctor had said him. At the moment, he was only sure of two things - 1.) His daughter, while on the small side, was perfectly fine and 2.) There was a chance that his fiancée would never wake up and see her.

His heart pounded. When had everything changed and turned into such a nightmare?

_Can your life change in a month, a week, or a single day? We're always in a hurry to grow up, to go places, and to get ahead. But when you're young, one hour can change everything._

Lucas continued to head down the hallway towards the elevator, his desperate need for caffeine finally hitting him like a ton of bricks. There was no way he would be able to sleep until he knew that Peyton would be okay, but he still had to be there for his daughter. Sleep was _not _an option. Not until his fiancée woke up and he found some way to make everything to go back to normal.

He stopped dead in tracks when he saw Brooke standing at the elevators, banging on the door while she waited for the doors to open. His mouth opened to greet her, to say something, but the sight of the fashionista reminded him of why his pregnant fiancée had been rushed into the hospital. Even as all of the doctors assured him that it had been a freak thing, that it hadn't been stress that had led to Peyton being rushed into the hospital, he had blamed himself. But it hadn't been _his _fault. It had been Brooke's. A small part of his brain told him that he was being irrational, but all of his logic was as good as gone and he was _pissed_ at his ex-girlfriend.

The brooder squinted in annoyance and turned on his heel. He was nowhere _near _ready to talk to the former cheer-captain but, he mused as her raspy voice filled the air, it seemed as if Brooke had other plans.

"Lucas?" She questioned in shock when she turned around, surprised etched into her face when she saw the blonde begin to stalk away from her. "Lucas, wait!" Brooke called out as she began to follow him, her heels clacking against the floor while her heart pounded in her chest.

She had asked various nurses and doctors what state the artist and her daughter were in but, since she wasn't _family_, they had refused to tell her anything. That had placed a poor, unsuspecting nurse on the receiving end of one of her bitch fits, but she still hadn't gotten the answers she had wanted.

_That _was why she been headed down to the cafeteria. After Haley had done her best to comfort her, the former tutor had promised the brunette that she would take Sam down to get some coffee, giving Brooke a moment to collect herself. If there was one person, other than the brooder, that knew how the strawberry blonde was, it was _Haley_.

"Lucas freaking Scott!" Brooke shouted as she jogged after the brooder, wishing she had pulled on sneakers instead of her cute pair of wedges. She growled in annoyance. "Would you slow the fuck down?"

Lucas growled and whipped around so quick that the brunette ended up walking into his chest, the sheer force of their collision almost causing her to fall flat on her ass. "What do you want, Brooke?" He demanded crossly, his heart telling him that this was _not _her fault, but his mind wasn't listening.

Brooke frowned at him. "How's Peyton and the baby?"

He scowled at her. "Like you even _care! _You're the reason she's in here." The brooder muttered angrily, his voice barely audible in the silence that surrounded the former lovers. Sheer pain became strewn across Brooke's face and he winced, opening his mouth to apologize, but the brunette's livid words escaped her lips before he had even opened his mouth.

"You're an emotional wreck right now, Luke, and I get that. I _really _do," Brooke snarled as she crossed her arms across her chest, "but do not think for one minute that I'm going to be your scapegoat. This is not _my_ fault."

Lucas stood to his full height at her words, his heart aching when he heard the underlying message in the brunette's words. She was under the impression that this was _his _fault and, while the guilt that had seeped into his mind told him the same thing, he refused for all of the blame to be placed on him. None of this would have happened if Brooke hadn't felt the need to dig all of this drama up again. None of this would have happened if Brooke had told him the truth back then. This was _her _fault.

"And _what? _You think this is all _my _fault?" Lucas fired back, scowling at the brunette standing in front of him.

She scoffed and kinked her signature eyebrow. "I wasn't the one who walked out on my pregnant fiancée in the middle of the night," Brooke pointed out simply. "My _at risk _fiancée, at that." She emphasized with blazing hazel orbs, "that was _you_."

"Maybe not," Lucas relented with a tight voice, blind fury dancing in his azure orbs. "But you _were _the reason that she was a distraught mess when I got home."

The former cheer-captain swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat upon hearing his truthful words. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her breakdown and she bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from releasing a sob. Instead, she rolled her hazel eyes at him and began to back away from him. This was _not _the place for round two.

"Whatever. This isn't the place for this, Lucas." Her eyes narrowed while her lips former a straight line, "have have a little respect for the situation."

Her expression made her appear broken, as if she were mere moments from breaking down, but all the blonde saw was her walking away. Brooke gazed him intently for a brief moment before turning on her heel and heading back towards the elevators, and the sight of it only pissed him off even more. She always walked away from him and pushed him away, even when something like _this _happened and they should be coming together and being there for each other.

"And there you are," he mocked, "walking away again." Lucas gritted out through clenched teeth, a bitter laugh falling from his lips when the fashion icon turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. "When does it stop, Brooke? Huh?" He questioned angrily, "when are you going to stop pushing us away? When are you going to stop pushing _me _away?"

_You've been waiting to push me away._

Something inside her snapped at those words. She knew that she had been a little detached ever since her attack. She _knew _that she had closed herself off from her friends and had pushed them away, but she was _trying _to get back. What _really _pissed her off though, was the brooder's declaration of how _she_ had been the one to push _him _away.

Lucas was the one that had been absent ever since he had run off to Vegas. He had once again left her, _for Peyton_, when she had needed him the most and had blind ever since. He had been caught up in the life he had been building with his fiancée and he had pushed _her _away.

Brooke clenched her teeth. Rage filled her veins and her heart pounded in her chest while everything hit her full force. It was all too much for her. The fight with Peyton and then the brooder, breaking down in front of Sam, and then finding out that the strawberry blonde had been rushed to the hospital…

She whirled around to face him. "You selfish son of a…" Brooke trailed off, struggling to remind herself that she _loved _his mother. She stalked towards him, anger visible in her eyes. "_I _was the one who pushed _you _away?" She scoffed. "I was hurting, Lucas, and I needed you there! When Angie left, I _needed _you! After my attack, I _needed_ you!"

Angry tears began to build up in her eyes. "But _you_, the guy who said he knew me, didn't even notice because he was too caught up in his happiness! You _saw _the bruises, Luke! Yet you _still _believed my story and," Brooke sobbed, "even when you found out about the attack… you never even came to see me. You never once asked me if I was _still _terrified to close my eyes at night!"

His eyes widened. "Brooke…"

"I was _not _the one to push you away, Luke!" Brooke continued, backing away from the brooder when he reached out to hold her. "You were the one who pushed our friendship aside while I was struggling to hold on to it."

_I am not pushing you away, Luke, I am holding on for dear life!_

Lucas felt his throat close off at the familiarity of the phrase. It shared a haunting similarity with the words that the former cheer-captain had said to him the day of Naley's second wedding. Brooke had always been there for him when he needed her, but he was the one that was usually blind to the pain that she was going through. Her heart was worn on her sleeve, but he never noticed when she was reaching out for someone. He never noticed when she was holding on for dear life.

His heart shattered in his chest as everything from the past couple of hours finally weighed down on him. He had failed to be there for Peyton the way he had promised and now his fiancée was in coma while their daughter was at risk of growing up without a mother. Then there was Brooke. The broken woman in front of him that he had failed in every way possible. He had kept _none _of his promises to her.

"Our friendship meant _so _much to me. It broke my heart when we barely talked after high school, but then I moved back and everything fell into place. You were one of my best friends," the brunette blubbered sadly, "but then you got back together with Peyton and it was like I was invisible to you." Brooke took a deep breath, "so if I _did _push you away? It was only because it seemed like you didn't need me anymore. Not the way I needed you."

_But I need you to been me back._

It pained him to know that she was right, but there was nothing he could do.

The damage had already been done.

He knew how wrong he'd been, but she had already given up on them and on him.

He _had _pushed her away after he had gotten back together with the tortured artist, but it had been because he had learned a long time ago that it was impossible for him to have both Brooke _and _Peyton in his life at the same time. But that had been back in high school and the three of them should have grown up since then - they _should _have been able to be friends. He should have been there for Brooke, regardless if he had been with the artist or not, because it was _Brooke _and he loved her.

Nothing else should have mattered other than the fact that she had needed _him_. She hadn't needed Peyton, or even Nathan and Haley, she had needed _him_. But how was he supposed to have known that? She had never said anything.

If she had said something, he would have been there.

"If you had said something, I would have been there for you, Brooke." The blonde insisted, even though his heart told him that it was a horrible excuse. She shouldn't have had to say anything, he should have just known. He pushed those thoughts from his mind, "but you seemed fine and you never said anything to make me think otherwise."

He swallowed loudly as he continued to search for an excuse. "How was I supposed to know that you needed me?" Lucas questioned finally, his thoughts going all over the place as he tried to make sense of everything.

It had always been so easy with Peyton. He had always been able to tell when she needed him because she made it more than obvious. The tortured artist _always _needed him. He was the one that had always been able to make her happy, the one had always been able to put a smile on her face, but it had always been so difficult to know when her cheery counterpart had needed him. Brooke Davis was often the most vulnerable person in a room, but her strong façade always made her seem like the strongest.

How had he managed to forget that?

Her eyes watered with tears. "I told you _that _when we were in high school, Luke." Brooke answered simply and the blonde felt his eyes go wide when he realised that his ex-girlfriend was right. She had answered that question six years ago when she had told him that she wanted him to fight for her. With all of the insecurities that she held, it was difficult for Brooke to open up to people and she never told them when something was bothering her. They were just supposed to know her well enough to see the signs; to know. _He _was supposed to have known her well enough to just know.

_How was I supposed to know that?_

_You just are._

Defeat was etched into her features and she shook her head at the look of pure bewilderment strewn across his face as he realised how wrong he'd been, "Go be with your family, Luke." Brooke whispered, her voice soft and pained, while she shook her head sadly and turned around.

Lucas watched her disappear from his sight, opening and closing his mouth several times to stop her. But, like always, words seemed to escape him as he watched the brunette walk away.

Then she was gone.

**-x-**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The brooder listened to the sound of the beeping machines in his fiancée's room and allowed a sigh to escape his lips. Their baby girl was fine, a little on the small side - which he had been assured was expected, but the artist still hadn't woken up. Lucas closed his eyes as he reached over to grip her limp had, his heart breaking as it refused to accept that there was _actually _a chance that Peyton would not wake up.

She had to wake up.

She had _promised _him that everything would be okay. He had been dreading this moment since they had learned of her condition, but he had allowed his fear to sink to the back of his mind because Peyton had told him that it would all work out in the end. That had been why they had spent the past couple of months being positive, because everything would be fine in the end. They were together and they were going to be a family - them and the baby girl.

Lucas breathed in deeply, pursing his lips together. He had believed the artist when she had told him that everything would be okay, mainly because he had never wanted to believe anything else. But, as he thought back to how _everything _had went wrong that day, he shook his head as angry tears appeared in his eyes.

"Peyton," his voice croaked while his blue orbs floated up to her face, "you _have _to wake up," he insisted as he intertwined their fingers. She had to wake up so they could work on _them_, she had to wake up so they could move past all of the lies, she had to wake up so they could find a way to be _better_.

His anger was still bubbling below the surface, just waiting for the opportune moment to explode again, but it was not the most important thing at the moment. He knew that he and his fiancée would have to talk about it again in order to move past it, because they _would _get past it, but for that to happen the artist had to wake up. Lucas sighed, wishing that he had the ability to go back and stop all of it from happening in the first place, but how far would he go back?

Would he go back to earlier that night, stopping himself from storming away from Peyton in first place? Would he travel back to when he had arrived home from his spur-of-the-moment trip with the artist, only to be there for the brunette this time, _seeing _the pain she had went through? Or would he go back even further than that, back to when all of this had been put into motion his senior year? And if he did go back that far, how much would he change? Would he still have ended up with the woman in front of him, or would he re-write his entire history?

Lucas pushed those thoughts from his mind, afraid of where they would take him. To go back in time was impossible. He could not change the past and _this _was his life - the life he had always wanted. The one that should have started over five years ago the first time he had proposed to the tortured artist.

Once she woke up, he and the label owner would work everything out and the two them would continue to make a lifetime of dreams come true; _their _dreams. They would get married and start their lives together, raising their daughter side by side.

_It's just a dream, right?_

_It's my dream._

He offered the slumbering woman a slight smile, unshed tears in his eyes as he thought of their daughter.

"We're going to work this out," Lucas whispered to her gently, "and I'm going to be here when you wake up." He paused there, his eyes squinting together while his signature broody expression etched into his face. "You know who else is going to be here when you wake up? Our, _god_," he breathed out as he thought about the little girl he had held in his arms not long ago, "our beautiful daughter. She's… you should see her, she's amazing." The blonde admitted with a soft chuckle, all remnants of a smile falling from his face with that comment.

What if Peyton _never _saw her?

What if she never woke up?

"She's _perfect_, Peyton." He said softly, bobbing his head up and down at the thought, his solemn eyes falling on his fiancée once again. "Come on, you can't do this." Lucas breathed out as he leaned forward, a lone tear finally rolling down his cheek. "You promised, you said that everything would be okay. You said you'd be here for this."

He felt his guilt bubble to the surface once again as he prayed that she would open her eyes and smile at him, promising him that she would always be there for him and their daughter. She had to, or he would never forgive himself so allowing this to happen to her.

The brooder always had a habit of saving her, even when he should have been concerned with saving someone _else_. There had always been a pull towards the tortured artist that had drawn him in, forcing him to save her and that had led to him falling for her. He hadn't known it back then, but he had always been attracted to people who had needed him. That had been why he had been unable to be with anyone else because _Peyton _had always needed someone; and he had always wanted to be the one that had put a smile one her face.

"I _need _you to be here for this," he admitted as he lifted her hand up to his scruffy cheek, leaning into and relishing in the warmth that came from it. "I'll do what I can but… she needs her mom."

"Sounds like you need her mom too." Haley commented as she walked into the room, sitting down in the chair beside her best friend, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "She's gonna beat this, Luke."

His jaw tightened in anger, taking a deep breath to stop himself from snapping at the former tutor. "What if she _doesn't_, Hales?" Lucas questioned softly, "I hate to be the negative one, but what if she doesn't? I can't raise our baby by myself and…"

His best friend reached over and wrapped her arms around him as he finally allowed his tears to stream down his cheeks. She wanted to answer his question, to tell him that she would wake up, but she didn't know if she could do that. And from what she had seen earlier when the blonde had shown up at her door, she knew that the _last _thing he needed was more lies in his life.

"She doesn't even have a name yet, the baby." Lucas elaborated when his friend leaned back and sent him a questioning gaze. He sighed at thought of it, "we hadn't picked one out yet and…" his eyes drifted over to his fiancée once more, "and _we _were supposed to pick one out together. And I'm just so afraid that we're going to lose her, and it's just going to be the two of us…"

"No matter _what _happens, it will not just be the two of you," Haley said firmly. "You have your family and we are all here for you, no matter what, and you _know _that."

He nodded and thought of all of the people that would be there for him, yet still unable to think of _not _having Peyton there. He opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again, opting for not asking his best friend if he could count on Brooke to be there too. He knew that the former tutor had talked to her after their blowout in the hallway and a part off him was afraid that he had pushed the fashion icon too far.

"Luke, I already had this talk with one person…"

Lucas swallowed loudly, knowing that it had been _him _that had planted that thought it Brooke's mind. He had been the one to tell his ex-girlfriend that she had caused all of this to happen; that it was _her _fault Peyton was in this position. But it wasn't. Brooke had been right when she had said that he had been looking for a scapegoat.

"…_don't _make me have it with you too." His best friend warned as she grabbed a hold of one of his hands, holding it in her grasp tightly, "this is _not _your fault."

Lucas nodded his head, knowing that it had not been his fault that two childhood friends had kept it a secret from him, but somewhere in his heart he knew that this wouldn't have happened it hadn't been for that fight. All of the doctors had told him otherwise, but he knew that it had somehow triggered it. So had him walking out on Peyton when she had finally told him the truth, but he had just been _so _pissed off and hurt that he hadn't cared. But he cared _now_, and once his fiancée woke up they would sort everything and they would repair their trust in each other and the friendships that they had held with the former cheer-captain. They were a family - they _had _to sort it all out.

"Luke?"

"I know it's not," the brooder answered for his best friend's benefit, "I just wish she had told me the truth." He whispered as he shook his head sadly, his heart shattering inside his chest for the millionth time that day.

**-x-**

He walked out of the hospital and exhaled slowly, in desperate need for air as he closed his eyes.

It had been four days since the strawberry blonde had been rushed into the hospital and Peyton still hadn't woken up. His heart ached as he thought about the hell that this was putting all of her loved ones though, not just him. She _had _to wake up soon, he had no idea how much more of this his family could take.

He opened his eyes once more, his grip tightening on the bag that he had in his hands, while he passed by the countless people that were heading into the hospital to visit their own loved ones. His blue eyes scanned the area for the woman he was looking for and he felt his heart clench when he saw the brunette sitting alone on one of the many benches outside the hospital, her eyes closed as she leaned forward, her chin resting on her clasped hands. He felt his heart splinter at the sight and he released a long sigh before heading over to her, silently praying that the strawberry blonde would wake up soon so everyone, including the fashion icon, would stop blaming themselves.

"You need to go home, Brooke." He said firmly as he placed the bag on the bench, shrugging his jacket off his shoulders, draping it around the brunette's shoulders as she refused to meet his gaze. His lips pursed together and he raised his eyebrows, sending her a pointed look. "You've been up for the better part of _four _days and even I that's not healthy."

"I _need _to be here when she wakes up," Brooke said firmly, finally glancing in his direction as she pulled the jacket closer to her petite frame. She understood why they were all worried about her, she would be worried too if she were them, but she had to be there when the artist woke up.

"How's Sam?" She questioned after a couple of minutes of silence, looking away from his disapproving blue orbs, unable to deal with his concern at the moment. There were more important things than _her _at the moment, and that included the strawberry blonde and her foster daughter that had been staying with Nathan and Haley since she had refused to leave the hospital.

"Worried as hell about you," he said honestly as he continued to stare at her, "and we're worried about you too. Have you even eaten since Hales literally _dragged _you to the cafeteria yesterday?" He asked, his concern for her wellbeing shining through in his voice.

"Nathan," the brunette warned as she shook her head, "I haven't been hungry. Besides," she sighed as she blinked away some tears, "I have to be here when Peyton…"

"When Peyton wakes up," Nathan finished with a nod. "Yeah, I know," he breathed out, having heard the same response from his brother countless times over the past couple of days. Neither of them seemed to notice that they themselves would end up in the hospital if they did not start to take care of themselves, but he knew better than to push either of them right now.

He sighed and sat down beside the brunette, offering her the bag that he had carried over with him. "Here," he sighed as the former cheer-captain frowned at him hesitantly before accepting the bag from him. Nathan almost laughed at how she placed the bag on her lap, frowning at in confusion instead of bothering to open.

"What is this?" Brooke asked, perplexity lacing her voice as she glanced into the bag, her hazel orbs flying up to look at the raven-haired Scott when a soft chuckle escaped his lips. His laughter brought a slight smile to her face, it feeling odd for her lips to twitch upwards for the first time since she had arrived at the hospital.

Nathan sighed. "_Every _fashion magazine I could find, and a granola bar so my wife and Sam won't bitch at me, claiming I never took care of you like I was told, when get home."

She rolled her eyes, not at all surprised that the two of them had sent Nathan to check up on her and his brother. What _did _surprise her was the fact that he had bought the stuff in the first place. "But you just said…" Brooke began as she furrowed her eyebrows at him. Hadn't he just told her to go home?

"Yeah, but I knew when I said that you needed to go home, that _you _would say that you have to be here when Peyton woke up." Nathan explained as he narrowed his eyes at his friend, his signature smirk lighting up his face, "because you are _stubborn_, Brooke Davis."

"And you're _not_, Nathan Scott?" Brooke fired back as she kinked her signature eyebrow at the raven-haired Scott. "Besides," she scoffed playfully, her heart clenching as she remembered all of the times that the tortured artist had said the following words, "you don't know me."

He rolled his eyes in response. "Davis, I've known you since we were five years old," he said matter-of-factly. His eyebrows rose to emphasize his point, "I was there when you twisted your ankle on that field trip in fifth grade, I was there when you made the cheer-squad freshman year, and I have been there for you every step of the way since our junior year of high school. I _know _you."

Brooke closed her eyes and nodded, knowing that he had been in her life long before even the curly-haired artist had entered her life at the age of nine. It had always been Nathan and her when they had been growing up, causing trouble together while they morphed into bad versions of themselves way to fast.

"And, I'm not just here for Luke," he said as he reached over and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. "I'm here for you too if you need me, and I _always _will be." Nathan said honestly, knowing that he didn't spend as much time with his friend as he should, but that did no mean that he was not there for her.

Brooke nodded her head. "I'm fine."

But her words were forced and they could both tell.

"Brooke," he warned as he tightened his hold on her

"I _really _am fine," the fashionista said, a sigh falling from her lips as she clenched her eyes shut even tighter, willing for the tears to go away.

_I'm fine, really._

_That sounds like something I would say._

"That sounds like something I would say," Nathan admitted, quoting the words he had said to the brunette when he had went to visit her after the funeral. "And, you and I both know, you are _not _okay." He insisted, knowing that her guilt had been driving her insane over the past few days.

The brunette had never told him what had happened, nor had his brother, but he'd finally had enough a couple days ago and Haley had told him everything that the brooder had told her. Peyton and the brunette had fought, _badly_, leading to the artist having no choice but to tell her fiancé what had happened back in high school, only for her to end up in a coma after giving birth to her daughter. And, though the doctors had assured all of them that stress hadn't led to the early delivery, nothing would get rid of the guilt that Brooke and Lucas felt until the strawberry blonde woke up.

"And, though it's not the same, I know what it feels like to blame yourself when someone you love is in the hospital." He admitted, remembering how _he _had been the one responsible for Daunte running his wife down their senior year when Haley had been pregnant with their son. "So, I think you know, I get it."

Brooke blinked at him.

Nathan offered her a slight smile and nudged her slightly. "You need to get this out," he said softly, watching her resolve break by the second. "And I'm gonna be pissed off if you don't talk to me about it."

_I sorta been there, okay? And I'm gonna be kinda pissed off if you don't come talk to me about it._

The brunette looked away from him, staring at the ground, blinking away the tears. "She _needs _to wake up," she choked, her voice cracking as she felt the familiar feeling of guilt settle in her stomach. Her friend had to know that she didn't hate her.

He pulled the brunette into his arms, "she'll be fine, Brooke." Nathan soothed as his friend buried her face into his chest, "this is Peyton we're talking about. She's not going to give up now, not now that she's finally gotten everything she's ever wanted." He voiced, kissing the top of the brunette's head, praying that his words of comfort were true.

_What does bother me is the fact that you felt the need to remind me of the fact that I usually give up what I want for others. It's the fact that you felt the need to remind me of the fact that I once gave up what I wanted for __**you**__._

_Brooke…_

_And it's like you don't even care that I gave up what I wanted for you._

Brooke swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as their fight flashed before her eyes for the millionth time. "Yeah," she breathed out as she sunk into the embrace, her eyes distant, "she has everything she ever wanted."

-x-

She winced in pain as she tried to move.

Her head pounded as the sound of various beeps resounded in her mind, making her feel as if a large marching band had decided to stomp around on her brain while each instrument played their loudest note. Her head had _never _felt so bad… not even the hangovers from high school could compare to how she was feeling.

Where the hell was she?

And dear _god_, why did her whole body ache?

Her mind scrambled to make sense of everything that had happened. Her best friend had come by the house, bitching because her mother had shown back up in town, and she had been distraught. The bitch had wanted her to go back to the company…

She felt her heart pound in her chest as she tried to recall what had happened after that. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that _told _her that it had been something bad, that something had occurred that she shouldn't have forgotten, but she had. Her hazy mind refused to let her grasp the piece of information that would cause everything to fall into place.

She _knew _something had happened.

But what?

All of her thoughts ceased when she heard a soft murmur. The soft tone of the gentle voice felt comforting her as she listened to it murmur, completely unaware of the solace it was giving her. She felt all of her previous hysteria fade away as she listened to the soothing mumbles, wishing she knew where the voice was coming from and what it was saying.

Her face scrunched up as she tried to decipher the soothing words.

"This is your mom," the voice whispered softly, as if it were afraid to disturb the peace that seemed to engulf the room. "I told you that you looked like her, baby girl," the husky voice chuckled, it sounding like music to her ears as she listened in. "Baby girl… hmmm… you think your crazy mom would let me name you that?"

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sound of the name, her mind scrambling to process what was going on around her, and then it was as if she had been slapped in the face. How could she not have recognized his voice? How could she have forgotten that she had gone into labour before her mind had been filled with the painless, peaceful black?

She struggled to open her eyes again.

Her mind was spinning as the memory of everything came flooding back to her. She remembered the fight she'd had with the fashion icon, wishing she could tell the brunette that she was _so _sorry for everything she had ever done to her best friend. She remembered the fight she'd had with Lucas, wincing at the memory of how lost and angry he'd been at her for keeping that secret. None of it mattered though; she could make up for it, _all of it_.

"You still don't have name…" the voice mused softly, as if he were _actually _considering naming the baby girl… well, _baby girl._

She licked her dry lips. "Anna," she said firmly, her voice scratchy and hoarse. "Her name is Anna, okay?"

**-x-**

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay." Lucas soothed as the baby began to squirm in his arms as he settled himself onto one of the plastic chairs beside his fiancée's bed. "Daddy's got you," he promised as he carefully held his daughter in his arms, looking down at her affectionately.

She looked _so _much like her mother that it made his heart hurt.

"You look so much like her," Lucas whispered, voicing his thoughts aloud as he gazed down at his daughter. He could picture her childhood now. While other children would be outside giggling, his daughter would take after her mother and take comfort in an ever-present sketchpad.

The brooder allowed a small smile to cross his face as he studied the baby girl's face for the millionth time since she had been born, his blue orbs zooming in on the identical coloured eyes that he saw under her blonde lashes. His daughter was a replica of her mother, that was for sure, but he could see that she would have _his _eyes instead of her mother's bright green.

"Except for your eyes, baby girl." Lucas said, voicing the discovery to the baby in his arms, "you got my eyes."

He grinned down at the baby in his arms, knowing in his heart that he would do anything to protect her from the harsh realities of the world. He had loved her from the moment that he had learned that Peyton was pregnant but, as he watched her snuggle into his arms, he swore that he would protect her from everything he could. Where he had failed saving everyone else in his life, he would succeed in saving his daughter.

_Sometimes I just wish you could rescue me._

Lucas felt his stomach drop as the familiar words resounded in his mind, his eyes never leaving his daughter.

"Your mom is going to love you," he whispered truthfully, knowing that his baby girl was a heartbreaker already. It was impossible to _not _love her.

His eyes filled with tears once again as his eyes drifted up to his fiancée's slumbering form, wishing that she would wake up and meet their daughter. He loved the little girl with all of his heart, but he knew that she would need her mother's love in her life too. There was no way that he could do this without the label owner.

"You haven't met her yet, huh? We can't have that, can we?" Lucas murmured softly as he grinned down at his daughter, readjusting her in his arms so that she was facing her mother. "This is your mom," he whispered softly as his eyes drifted back over to his fiancée.

His eyes drifted back down to the baby in his arms, but a soft sound caused his head to snap up and he locked his gaze on the strawberry blonde once again. Hope fluttered in his heart, but the artist failed to open her eyes. She didn't even stir.

Lucas sighed and focussed on his nameless daughter once again. "I told you that you looked like her, baby girl." He voiced, a chuckle falling from his lips as he played the nickname over in his mind. He hadn't had the heart to name his daughter with Peyton there and had opted for calling her _baby girl _from the first moment that he had held in her arms.

"Baby girl…" he repeated as his eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of his forehead, a small smile tugging at his lips for the first time in days. "Hmmm… you think your crazy mom would let me _name _you that?" He pondered aloud as he lowered his face to his daughter's face and placed butterfly kisses on her head.

He could picture the scowl that would adorn his fiancée's face if he were to actually name their daughter 'baby girl.' Peyton would surely have a fit about it, yet the brooder could not help but think about how _Brooke _would have laughed at his antics and playfully agreed. The brunette had always had a knack for nicknames but the time of playful teasing and banter was in the past.

"You still don't have a name…" he mused.

"Anna." The familiar voice rasped, her scratchy voice cutting into the silence that had engulfed the room for days.

Lucas could not believe what he was hearing, praying that his mind was not playing tricks on him. His hope had already been shattered once and he could _not _go through that again. It would be a cruel joke. He released a deep breath as his blue orbs locked onto his fiancée's form and watched her emerald eyes slowly flutter open.

"Her name is _Anna_, okay?" Peyton said softly as her eyes finally opened and locked onto the brooder's hopeful face, offering him a soft smile.

She bit her bottom lip and waited with bated breath for Lucas to say something. Her mind immediately flashed to the fight that the two of them had had the last time they had seen each other and she felt her level of unease rise up. He was there… that had to be a good thing, right? He would have shown up for their child anyway, but he had stuck around to be there for _her_. He wouldn't have done that if he had hated her…

_I hate you. You ruined my life._

Her heart rate sped up as she imagined what would happen if the brooder once again told her that he hated her. Peyton knew that it would be enough to shatter her heart, even though she knew that no one would be to blame except for herself.

"Anna…" Lucas whispered with his signature broody expression. "Anna _Scott_."

Peyton nodded her head in acknowledgement, apprehension strewn across her face. Nevertheless, her eyes widened in surprise when the brooder shot up from his chair, as quickly as he could with the bundle he held in his arms, and moved to her side.

Lucas nodded his head. "Okay. Anna Scott it is," he breathed out as he leaned in and kissed the strawberry blonde's lips gently, hoping that the simple action was enough to convey to her how sorry he was for everything that had happened. He needed her to know that, despite how pissed he was, she was not in this alone. He would not leave her; he would not leave their _daughter_.

He refused to become Dan Scott.

"God, you picked a hell of a way to get me to come talk to you." Lucas admitted as he rested his forehead against hers, watching as she closed her eyes. He chuckled slightly. "You scared me."

Peyton swallowed the lump in her throat. "I'm so sorry, Luke." The strawberry blonde admitted as she blinked away the tears.

She had _always _been a crier and it was one thing that she did not expect to change any time in her life, but she refused to allow her tears to fall. It was time for her to smarten up and get her life together. She was a _mother _now for god's sakes and she refused for her baby to learn her bad habits. There was little hope for _her_, but Peyton refused for her daughter to turn into the woman that she herself had turned into.

Her chest tightened when she felt one of Lucas' stray tears fall from his face and land on her. Peyton released a breath. She had a family now, and they had to come first.

For once in her life, _she _would not be the person that she would have to look out for. She now had another little life that was dependent on her and the thought of it scared the hell of it.

"Sorry for _what_?" Lucas questioned, his heart wanting to know just what the strawberry blonde was sorry for.

And just like several nights before when their whole relationship had been shaken to its core, the tortured artist offered an answer that consisted of one word - one word that brought a shadow of a smile to his face.

"_Everything_," Peyton admitted softly, a lone tear finally falling from her green eyes.

"We'll deal with that later, once you get back on your feet." The brooder promised, his tone completely serious as he leaned away from his fiancée. "But," he began, "you have to meet your number one fan first."

Her eyes fell down to the baby girl that Lucas was holding in one of his arms, her gaze softening at the sight of her daughter. The brooder had been right; Anna looked just like she had when she had been a little girl. But her eyes… she had the blue Scott eyes.

Fear seeped into her heart as she remembered all that had happened.

Her baby girl _had _to be completely healthy.

"She's okay, right?" Peyton breathed out hesitantly, unable to decide if she could bear to hear any bad news, her heart pounding in her chest as she locked gazes with Lucas.

"She's perfect," he answered honestly, reading the concern that had filled the artist's eyes the moment they had locked onto their daughter. Not that he blamed her. The nurses had had to tell him _countless _times over the past couple of days for him to believe that she was truly all right.

"Can I hold her?" His fiancée questioned softly, relief filling her body when he nodded and gently placed the sleeping baby in her arms. "Oh…" Peyton breathed out at the sight of the little girl.

She closed her eyes and thanked whatever deity that had been watching over her daughter. Anna was everything she had ever hoped she could be _and _she was healthy. "Hi," she breathed out as she gently ran her hand over her daughter's small head. Peyton smiled, "Anna, you remember me? I'm your mom."

Lucas sighed and ran his hands over his tired face, willing himself to keep all of his anger below the surface as he had done for the past couple of days. He had been telling the truth - it was not the place _or _the time for such a confrontation.

Why?

Because the wellbeing of his family had to come first.

He reached out and tucked a loose curl behind Peyton's ear. "I should get the doctor," Lucas admitted as his fiancée tore her gaze away from Anna to look at him.

"No," the artist breathed out, shaking her head. Peyton smiled at him and looked back at the sleeping child, "I just it to be the three of us for a minute. You, me, and our daughter."

Lucas bobbed his head up and down. He knew the tortured artist as well as he knew himself and he _knew _that the two of them needed this moment. Once this moment floated away, they would be left to deal with the repercussions from their fights and the truths that had been exposed.

But there, in the silence of the hospital room, it was just them and their daughter and they could forget about the outside world. They could play ignorant of reality and pretend that they were okay.

"Okay," he answered.

"Lucas Scott, I don't care what excuses you have to throw at me but it is about damn time you left the hospital room for _ten _minutes." Haley ranted as she stormed through the door, her hands on her hips. "You need to eat and you know what? Your daughter needs to leave the hospital and be exposed to a germ or two and…"

She blinked as her eyes settled on Peyton, all of her words dying on her tongue as tears of relief swelled up in her eyes. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she found she could not fight the smile.

"You're so lucky you're okay." Haley smiled gently, "because now I get to kick your ass."

Peyton allowed her lips to tilt up into a smile as her green eyes left Haley's face and drifted to the door, looking for the one other person she wanted to see. A part of her doubted she would have shown up, but she needed to know.

"Where's Brooke?" She asked softly.

Haley blinked in surprise and shared a look with her best friend before smiling at her future sister-in-law. "Getting some caffeine so she can stay up for the _fifth _day in a row," she said honestly, her protective nature shining through.

"_Really?_"

"Yeah," she answered as she nodded her head. Haley knew that getting the fashion icon to enter the room would take a lot of persuading on her part, but she smiled at the artist anyway. "I'll go get her."

And she intended on doing just that.

Even if she had to _drag _the brunette into the room, Brooke would finally talk to the strawberry blonde. It was time for everyone to deal with this mess and move on. After all, there was no changing it now.

**-x-**

Brooke nervously rubbed her hands over her leg as she continued to pace the empty corridor, her heels clicking against the floor while her hazel eyes flew up to stare at the door. She had no idea if she could do this. She chewed on her bottom lip at the thought. _What _the hell had made her think she was ready for this?

She scoffed as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Haley a couple of minutes before. It had been the former tutor that had managed to convince her that this was the right thing to do…

"_Tell me where your head's at, Girlie."_

_Her hazel eyes stayed focussed on the tiled floor as the former tutor sat in the plastic chair beside her, reaching out to grip her hand, squeezing it tightly to give the fashionista a little comfort. Nevertheless, she wasn't all that sure if she wanted the comfort. There was no denying that she had been relieved to hear that Peyton was all right, but she had no idea what to do about everything else. She didn't know if she could actually go see the strawberry blonde._

"_I don't know what to do," she breathed out before she looked up at Haley with a pleading expression, "tell me what to do."_

_Haley's eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of her head. "What do you mean?"_

_She chewed on her bottom lip before she locked gazes with her friend. Haley had been there for her so much over the past couple of days; her and Nathan both, but neither had pushed her to talk about what had happened between her and Peyton. They hadn't even asked her about the fight she'd had with Lucas. Instead, they had told her that they would be there for her if she wanted to talk, but they wouldn't force her to talk about it until she was ready._

_But _was _she ready now? Was she ready to open up her heart and allow her beloved Naley all the way in? And, more importantly, was she ready to face Peyton for the first time since their fight?_

"_You__'__re my Tutor-Girl,__"__ she breathed out while a small smile tugged at her lips. __"__You always make sense, and right now I need you to tell me what I should do.__"_

"_You__'__re going to have to give me a little more than that, Brooke.__"_

"_The fight was bad, Haley. It was the worst one we__'__ve had in years.__"__ She said honestly as her hazel orbs darkened. __"__And I was fully prepared for us to accept our relationship for what it was__…__ for us to take a break, but then this happened.__"_

_Haley frowned. __"__And now you__'__re not so sure__…__?__"_

"_No, but I feel like with all that__'__s happened that it__'__s wrong for me to hold this grudge. There__'__s this part of my heart that__'__s telling me to move on and__…"_

"_That__'__s because you have a good heart, Brooke Davis.__"__ Haley grinned as she smiled at her best girl friend._

_She ignored her friend__'__s words and continued to babble. __"__And it__'__s telling me that I should just forgive her and tell her that it__'__s okay - that we can find a way to be best friends again, which is what Peyton wants.__"_

"_But is it what __**you **__want?"_

_She looked up at her friend. "I want more time to figure out what I want."_

"_You listen to me. You do __**not **__have to make a decision right this second," Haley said firmly as she reached up to place a hand on each side of the brunette's face. "If you're pissed off, then __**be **__pissed off. Do not let this sucky situation cheat you out of your right to be angry, Brooke. If you do that… then this is all going to build up again and you'll continue to suffer away on the inside. It's better to just deal with it now."_

_She nodded her head, closing her eyes as she processed her friend__'__s words._

"_But you should still go see her,__"__ Haley continued after a beat of silence, __"__even if the two of you don__'__t bury the hatchet. We both know you won__'__t get rid of this guilt until you do."_

She shook the memory from her mind. Her hazel eyes darkened as she walked up to the door and slowly entered the room, Haley's truthful words echoing in her mind the entire time. There was no way for her to free herself of the guilt she felt until she _saw _Peyton.

Brooke sighed in relief when she saw the sight of her friend, her wrist flicking backwards to shut the door, only for the fashion icon to jump when the door slammed. She winced when the piercing sound engulfed the room, causing the strawberry blonde to look up at her childhood friend, surprise etched into her face.

Peyton opened and closed her mouth several times, forcing her look of shock to fall from her face as she looked at the brunette in front of her. "Brooke," she greeted finally, a hesitant smile on her face.

"Hey," the fashion icon said softly, her lips tilting down into a frown. "You look like crap, P Sawyer."

The artist felt a genuine smile light up her face at Brooke's honest words. She didn't doubt that she _did _look like crap but, as she took in the sight of the fashion icon, Peyton couldn't help but remember Haley's previous words. The former tutor had said that Brooke had been up for the better part of five days and Peyton could _see _it as she looked at the brunette.

"I've been in a coma for the past couple of days," Peyton shrugged slightly as she tried to keep the conversation going, afraid of what this visit could mean for the two of them. She eyed the dark circles under Brooke's eyes, a slight smirk lighting up her face. "What's _your _excuse?"

"Excuse me?" Brooke scoffed, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she walked over and sat in the chair beside the artist's bed. "I _always _look good."

"You haven't looked in a mirror recently, have you?"

Brooke sighed. The familiarity that the teasing evoked in her caused her heart to literally ache as she tried to silence the various voices in her head. She was _not _here to patch things up with Peyton. She was here to appease her nerves and assure herself that the strawberry blonde would be fine.

Peyton picked up on the change in the mood and looked down at her hands. "I wasn't expecting you to be here," she admitted honestly.

The voices in her mind told her that she had been stupid for thinking such a thing. Brooke had _always _possessed a good heart and nothing would have ever stopped the brunette from making sure she was okay - that wasn't who she was. The former cheer-captain had always made it a point to put others above herself.

_You always sacrifice to help everybody else. That's why we love you._

Peyton felt her lips tilt down into a thoughtful frown as that truth crossed her mind, wondering if that had been the problem that had led them _here_. Would things have been different had Brooke been selfish just _once _in her life?

"Yeah, I know." Brooke breathed out, tapping her manicured fingers against the plastic chair she was sitting in. her heart was pounding in her chest. All she wanted to do was flee the room, but she refused to. It was time for her to be brave.

_Brilliant and beautiful and brave; Brooke Davis._

"But you came, anyway." Peyton continued, furrowing her eyebrows together as she tried to decipher the fashionista's reason for being there. She felt hope and a wave of excitement swell up in her heart as her breaths became a little quicker. Did this mean that they would be okay?

"Does this… does this mean that _we _will be okay?" She questioned slowly, hesitance in her voice as she voiced the question that had popped into her head the moment she had seen Brooke.

Brooke chewed on her lip. "It means… it means that I'm glad you're okay, Peyton." She said honestly, knowing that it would have broken her heart if the artist _hadn't _been all right.

Peyton frowned. Those hadn't been the words that she had wanted to hear. She had been hoping that her friend's usual dimpled grin would light up her face and Brooke would say, _"of course we will, P Sawyer! Like your skinny ass would ever be able to get rid of me." _

Brooke had been the constant in her life for as long as she could remember and the mere thought of _not _having the brunette there threatened to through her back into her previous state of heartache. How could getting the _boy _she loved, cause her to lose the _girl _she had loved since the age of nine?

"Brooke…" she trailed off, not quite knowing where her statement had been going to begin with. What could she say to fix everything? Her relationship with the brunette was just as strained as the relationship she held with her fiancé and she had no idea of to fix any of it.

"I _know _I've made a lot of mistakes over the years," Peyton said softly once she had all of her thoughts straight. She glanced up and locked eyes with the fashion icon. "But I _have _to believe that they're fixable, Brooke."

"It's not that simple, Peyton! I understand why you need to believe that, I really do, but not everything that's broken can be fixed." The former cheer-captain said honestly. "Sometimes… sometimes you just have to accept the repercussions that those mistakes had and move on."

It was funny. She had been the one that had spent years being trapped by the pain that she had felt in the past, ignoring it all so things could go back to normal. Now though, she had accepted that _normal _had not been working for her and she was ready to move on and find the peace and happiness that she wanted.

"You know," Brooke began with a slight chuckle, shaking her head at the tearful look on the artist's face. "There's this part of me that wants things to go back to how they were. We've been through a lot together and you mean so,_ so _much to me… but I'm tired of putting everyone else's feelings above mine and having everyone walk over me."

Peyton's eyes went wide in horror. "Brooke… I never meant to…" she stuttered, needing the brunette to know that she had never meant to walk over her.

"Yeah," the brunette responded softly, even though knowing that Peyton had never intended to hurt her didn't really make it hurt less. "And, for what it's worth, I don't hate you, Peyton." Brooke sighed, "and I can even forgive you for what happened back then and recently…"

Peyton swallowed the lump in her throat as she blinked away the tears. There was no way that it would be _that _simple.

"But I can't forget about it," Brooke whispered as she finally looked back at Peyton with sad eyes and a slight smile. "What happened back then… it _still _hurts and it probably always will because you both meant _everything _to me - _he _meant everything to me."

_He meant everything to me, Peyton._

Peyton winced. As much as she hated to admit it, the former cheer-captain was right. Brooke had allowed the two tortured blondes back in her life time and time again and the two of them had always ended up inadvertently hurting her and she was _sick _of it. She didn't want to hurt anymore and the artist didn't _want _to hurt her friend again.

That lone reason was why she would do as the brunette asked. She would try to accept their friendship for what it was. She would own up to all of her lies and acts of betrayal and Brooke would do the same thing. And then hopefully, once the dust and devastation of recent events settled, the two of them would find a way to be friends again. _Real _friends.

"I really am happy you're okay." Brooke whispered, offering the artist a soft smile before climbing to her feet and heading to the door. She had nothing more to say to Peyton.

Peyton frowned as she watched Brooke's form walk away from her. "Brooke?" She called out slowly, a lump forming in her throat when the brunette turned around to look at her with confusion etched into her face. Why had she called her back? Hadn't they said everything that had needed to be said? What more could she possibly say?

"My actions never really showed it, but you mean a lot to me too." Peyton admitted suddenly, tearing rolling down her cheeks. "You were there for me when no one else was, even when I didn't deserve it. And we're gonna be good again, Brooke. You said that before is gone, which is true, and we're never gonna be the way it was, but we _will _be good again. Someday."

"Yeah – _someday_." Brooke murmured as she gave the strawberry blonde a sad smile before disappearing out the door. She had one more person left to talk to.

**-x-**

"Even when all of your dreams come true," Brooke commented softly with amusement in her voice, "you're sitting by yourself looking broody."

The sound of her raspy voice jolted him from his thoughts and Lucas' head snapped up, his azure orbs locking onto the brunette that was leaning against the wall directly in front of him. There was a hint of a smile on her face - even though no dimples were present - and her hazel eyes held something that he could only describe as determination. They hadn't seen each other since the night Peyton had been rushed into the hospital and now, days after the fight that had erupted between the two of them, it was time for the two of them to face those past issues again.

"Not _all _of my dreams." Lucas answered honestly, squinting his eyes at the brunette when she opted for rolling her eyes at him.

Nevertheless, his words were genuine. There had been a wide range of emotions coursing through his veins over the past couple of days. He'd felt fear, ache, and numb since his fiancée had been rushed into the hospital but the solitude he'd endured had given him the chance to brood over everything that had happened over the past couple of years. And, as a result, his old friend known as _regret _had settled in the pit of his stomach.

Brooke was right, many of his dreams _had _come true. He was a published author, his daughter had been born and his want for a family was closer than ever, and he was with Peyton Sawyer; the girl he had dreamed about for years. Many of his dreams had come true, but not all of them. The ones that he had dreamed up at age seventeen, back when he had been in a relationship with the woman in front of him, had never came true.

And they never would.

"Don't, Luke." Brooke ordered as she began to walk towards the brooder, shaking her head when he glanced up at her in confusion. "Don't get caught up in the _what ifs_. Not now - not know that you're finally happy."

"With you," he muttered and locked gazes with her. "I _could _have been happy with _you_," Lucas pointed out simply.

Brooke rolled her eyes at his words and huffed in annoyance. "And you're _still _hung up on that." She muttered, unable to believe that the brooder was still pissed that she had lied to him their senior year.

"Brooke…"

"No, Luke." She hissed as she marched towards him, using all of her strength to pull him to his feet. "You have a daughter now - you have a _family! _Yet you're moments from throwing it away, and for what?"

Brooke shook her head when he went to respond, cutting off any response that the brooder had been about to give her. "I just talked to Peyton," she threw out randomly, causing Lucas to blink at her in surprise. "She's still here and she loves you, Luke, just like you love her."

"But I love you _too_."

"Luke, you have got to stop doing this to yourself." The brunette sighed, "You have got to stop complicating your life whenever you're happy. You have this chance to have a great life," Brooke frowned, "why would you jeopardize that?"

"Because I need to know that I made the right choice."

Brooke scowled. "Lucas."

He shook his head. "I don't think you understand how much this has been tearing me apart, Brooke. We were only kids the last time we were together, but you were _it _for me."

_She's the one. I feel it._

"And I still love you, I always will, but I'm with Peyton now and I _do _love her." Lucas struggled, trying to think of a way to explain to the fashion icon how he had been feeling ever since he had learned the truth. "But I don't love her the way I loved you, and I'm never going to."

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "What do you want me to say, Lucas?" Brooke questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Just tell me why, Brooke. I want you to tell me why it was so easy for you to give up on us back in high school," Lucas said sternly, knowing that this would be the last time for all of them to bring up what had happened that night. "And I don't want any of that bullshit about you thinking it wouldn't have made a difference if I had known. This one time, I want the truth from you."

"You think it was _easy _for me to give up on us?" Her voice broke as she asked that, shaking her head. "You were the first boy I ever loved, Luke, but you never let _me _all the way in, but it seemed like you always let Peyton in. And, after a while, it was impossible for me to ignore the voices in the back of my head and I gave up."

Lucas closed his eyes.

"It was never about how _I _felt about you; it was about how Peyton felt about you. She was the girl I loved and you were the boy I loved. I knew that the two of you had never really had your chance to be together and… if I had told you the truth, a part of me would have always wondered if you had stayed because you loved me or because you hadn't had the chance to see you loved her. And I was right, wasn't I? You're with Peyton," Brooke rambled, tears finally spilling down her cheeks.

"Brooke," his voice cracked as he reached out to pull the fashion icon into his arms, holding her tight as if he was afraid she would vanish forever. "I'm sorry I ever made you doubt that I was with because I _loved _you."

Brooke buried her face in his chest, her tears soaking his shirt, but the brooder didn't seem to care. He held her tightly in his arms and continued to whisper in her ears.

"Back then… _she _was the footnote in our story, Brooke." Lucas insisted, refusing to allow her to believe that she had ever been a mere distraction to him. "You were the one I loved."

"And _Peyton _is the one you love now." Brooke mumbled against his chest, "and the two of you are going to get married and raise that _beautiful _baby girl."

He nodded. "I know… but I never meant to hurt you, Brooke."

_Brooke, I never meant to hurt you._

_That doesn't really matter, Lucas, 'cause in the end it all hurts just the same._

She nodded against his chest and Lucas sighed. "You remember that night in New York?" He murmured into her ear.

"Yeah." Brooke whispered as she nodded her head, her heart aching as she remembered all of the dreams that she and the brooder had made that night, plans that had been a mere joke. She allowed a small smile. "Two boys and a girl, right?"

"That's all I ever wanted," Lucas vowed as he closed his eyes, thinking of how his life would have turned out if she had been the one he had proposed to back then.

Brooke pulled back and frowned at him. "Luke…"

"The night I asked Peyton to marry me in Vegas, I thought about asking you too." Lucas interrupted, voicing aloud for the first time that he _had _been torn that night. A small laugh escaped his lips, "I dreamt about those two boys and that little girl… and you trying to bake treats for them…"

Brooke closed her eyes as the brooder wiped her tears away. "Lucas," she breathed out and her hazel orbs fluttered open as she looked up at him. "It was a just a dream."

"I know," the blonde admitted with a gentle smile, "but it was _my _dream."

_It's just a dream, right?_

_It's my dream._

"And it was a nice dream," Brooke admitted with a soft smile, "but _this _is reality. You have Peyton and your baby girl, and I have Sam."

"I…"

"This belongs in the _past_, Luke."

Lucas opened his mouth to say something to the brunette, unshed tears floating in his eyes as he stared at her, but no words would come out. Nevertheless, he nodded because he knew she was right. He and Brooke _were _in the past and they could never be again. Whether he'd had all of the facts or not, he _had _made his decision in high school, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

Even though a small part of his heart would always wish he could.

**-x-**

Brooke sighed and slowly walked into her beach house, rubbing the back of her neck as she closed the door behind her. Her mind was reeling from everything that the brooder had said to her. He had said everything that she had _hoped _for him to say years ago, but it didn't matter anymore. Lucas had a life with Peyton and their daughter and it was time for her to rebuild her life and finally fight for what she wanted.

_I wanted you to fight for me_.

She brushed those words away, but allowed a small smile to cross her face anyway. It had always hurt her to think of the end of her high school years, but suddenly she felt as if she could look back on them and remember how happy she had been. Some of those days had been the best of her life and she knew that a large part of it had been because of the two tortured blondes.

Plus, though she hadn't ended up with the brooder as she had once hoped, the brunette knew that a part of her would always love him in some way. Lucas Scott had been her first love and his fiancée had been her best friend for _years_, and she would always be able to look on those memories with smile, despite all of the pain that had also embedded itself in her heart.

And she knew in the bottom of her heart that Peyton was right. Nothing between the three of them would _ever _be the same - how could it be? - but everything would eventually be okay again. It wouldn't be anytime soon and maybe it wouldn't even be in the next couple of months, but eventually everything would be good. Different from how it had been in the past, but still good.

She pushed those thoughts from her mind as she threw her purse onto the small table by the door, a frown pulling at her ruby lips when she saw Sam sitting at the counter, staring at her with a large smirk on her face, while a large pepperoni pizza sat unopened in front of her. Brooke felt her mouth begin to water. _God, she loved that girl!_

As she approached her foster daughter, Brooke opened her mouth to thank Sam for thinking ahead and ordering them a pizza, but none of her words made it past the barrier of her lips when she spotted the papers in the teenager's hands. Her eyes fell to the papers in confusion and she glanced up at the hesitant expression on Sam's face.

"Hey Sam, what have you got there? You didn't get a bad grade on a test or anything, did you?" Brooke questioned as she leaned against the counter, trying to decipher the teenager's expression. "You look hesitant," she noted as she narrowed her eyes, allowing a slight smile when Sam laughed at her. "I'm not going to like whatever you have to say, am I?"

Sam swallowed loudly as she looked down at the papers in her hands before she glanced up at Brooke. "I _really _hope you will," she admitted worriedly.

"Sam," she said slowly, reaching across the table to place her hand on top of the teenager's. "What's going on? You know you can talk to me, about anything."

Brooke felt her her heart drop at the look of pure apprehension that was strewn across Sam's face. The two of them had been good lately, great even, and she had thought that they had passed this. She understood how hard it was for the teenager to open up, but the fashion icon had thought that the two of them had progressed far enough in their relationship that trust was no longer an issue. Sam _had _to know that she loved her, no matter what, right?

Sam sighed and looked over at her foster mother. "You know how one of the rules was for me to stop stealing and going through your stuff?"

"I do," the fashionista answer, shrugging a little as she chuckled at the younger brunette. "So what? You borrowed a pair of my earrings again without asking?"

"No."

"Sam," Brooke sighed as she tilted her head so she could catch her foster daughter's eyes once again. She had felt it in her gut the other night that something was troubling Sam, but it had been right after her fight with the brooder and then the thing with Peyton had happened… she sighed. None of that mattered anymore. It was in the past and, from now on, she was going to take Lucas' lead. Her family would be the most important thing to her.

"Whatever it is, you _can _tell me." She insisted, lifting her lips into what she prayed was a comforting smile, squeezing Sam's hand.

"I was going through your room the other day," Sam murmured softly. "Jamie thought it would be cool if we did a surprise for you and, apparently Skills was after telling him that if you found a girl's diary you held the key to her life or something like that, and Jamie was convinced you had one hidden." She chuckled softly, "and I found something."

The smile that had formed while Sam had been telling the story slowly faded and the former cheer-captain waited with bated breath for the punch line. There was _always _a punch line.

Her foster daughter was quiet for a moment. "You said that your home was my home as long as I wanted it to be, right?" Sam questioned, throwing out what seemed to be a random comment, watching as Brooke's eyebrow kinked in confusion.

"Yeah, I did." Brooke said slowly, her eyebrow arching even higher as she tried to piece together everything that the teenager was saying. Her breath hitched in her throat. Did Sam want to leave? Was _that _what she was hinting at?

She hoped it wasn't.

"I don't think I can call you my foster mom anymore." Sam breathed out as she slid the papers over to the older brunette, holding her breath as Brooke picked them up, her eyes going wide when she realised that they were the adoption papers that she'd had drafted up.

"Sam…"

"I didn't know if it was what I wanted," Sam continued without acknowledging that Brooke had said something. "My whole life I've been fighting to keep people at arm's length to keep myself from getting hurt, because if I never let them in, it didn't hurt when they left." She rambled, despite how the fashion icon was trying to interrupt her. "But then I came here and all of that changed and it scared the hell out of me, and then I found the papers."

The teenager chuckled at her tendency to babble, something she _knew _she had picked up from Brooke. "What I'm trying to say is, that I know everything has been really whacko the past couple of days, but I'm _really _okay with this change and I want us to be a family." She admitted as she tapped the adoption papers for emphasis, "so I hope you're still okay with it cause… cause I need you to be okay with this and I need _you_."

_I need you, Mom._

Sam realised a deep breath as she finished her rant, watching the emotions that played over Brooke's face as she tried to process everything her foster daughter had just said.

Her heart jumped up her throat when Brooke stood up, fear swelling up inside her as the older woman walked around the counter and stopped in front of her. The fashion icon eyed her for several seconds, chewing on her bottom lip, only to surprise the teenager when she pulled her into a tight hug.

"I love you, Sam." Brooke whispered honestly as she held onto the teenager tightly, closing her eyes as a dimpled grin lit up her entire face. She released a breath and pulled away from the hug, placing a hand on each side of Sam's face as she took in the sight of her unshed tears. "And I am _more _than okay with this, alright? I wasn't kidding when I said that this was your home as long as you wanted it to be," the brunette insisted as the two of them shared a genuine smile.

"Then you better get used to forever," Sam said as her usual smirk lit up her face as she reached up to wipe away several happy tears. She cleared her throat before wiggling her eyebrows at Brooke, "because I plan to mooch off you for a _very _long time."

Brooke rolled her eyes and pulled the teenager in for another hug. She was used to Sam's teasing by now and she even welcomed it, not even caring if people thought the set-up that the two of them had going was odd. They were a family - that was all that mattered.

Still, as her own smirk crossed her face, the fashionista couldn't help but tease Sam once more. "As long as you realise that this means Bitch-toria will be your evil bitch _grandmother_."

Sam laughed.

**-x-**

Lucas grinned up at his one-month old daughter and tried to remember the last time he had been so happy. He was lid on his back, stretched out on the sofa while he lifted Anna above his head, only the sound of her giggles and one of his old records filling the room. There was no denying that his daughter was the cause for his happiness over the past month.

Her resemblance to her mother was becoming more pronounced as the days went by, but her eyes were still a bright blue. She was the perfect combination of him and his fiancée. Undoubtedly, Anna Karen Scott was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Wanna go higher, baby girl?"

The brooder prepared to lift the baby up higher, only to be cut off when Peyton walked into the room with her hands on her hips. "Lucas Scott, don't you even dare!" She laughed as she walked over to the happy pair on the couch.

She leaned against the back of the couch and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on Anna's head before grinning at the happy baby. "Hey, is your daddy crazy, baby girl?" Peyton frowned as the familiar nickname fell from her mouth, her lips tilting downwards in a frown as she looked at Lucas. "_Why _did we even bother to name her?"

"Because you didn't approve of _actually _naming her 'baby girl.'"

Lucas grinned while the artist rolled her eyes, lifting Anna out of his arms before she began to walk around the room with their daughter, humming the tune of some Cure song to her. The brooder almost groaned, praying that his daughter did not grow up to love The Cure as much as her mother did.

_Actually, I don't like The Cure._

_How can you not like The Cure?_

_Well, their music is depressing and whiny._

_Yeah… and if they could squint, they would be __**you**__._

He grinned at the memory. It had been a time when he had truly been happy with the strawberry blonde in front of him, back when he had been blind to everything that both Peyton and Brooke had done. Back when he had been ignorant to the lies of his loved ones.

"What's on your mind, daddy?" Peyton questioned suddenly as she looked over at him, their daughter still in her arms as she frowned at him.

Lucas opened his mouth to tell her what he had been thinking about, yearning for the days when he had been able to tell Peyton everything, but he stopped himself at the last minute. His fiancée had no idea that he was still hung up on everything that had happened a month ago. The two of them hadn't talked about it since, even though they had agreed back then that they _needed _to, and had opted for living as though it hadn't happened.

But it _had _happened.

And Lucas could not stop thinking about it.

"Nothing, where'd my mom go?" Lucas questioned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, looking around the room for good measure. His mother had shown up a week ago with both Andy and Lily in tow, and the brooder had enjoyed having his mother back in town. He had missed them while they were away.

"Gone to the beach with Lily and Andy."

The couple stared into each other's eyes for a moment until Lucas nodded and moved his gaze away from her. Peyton sighed at the action and slowly walked over to the playpen that they had set up for Anna and placed her down in it, kissing her head before she stood up straight and turned to face the brooder.

"Lucas, can I talk to you for a second?" She questioned as she slid her hands into the back pockets of her skinny jeans, a frown on her face when he looked up at her in surprise. His eyebrows were crumpled together in the middle of his head; he was confused.

"Yeah," Lucas answered as she bobbed her head up and nodded before coming to sit beside him on the couch, his heart pounding violently in his chest. The last time she had used that phrase on him, she had confessed about her misdoings senior year and his entire world had been turned upside down. He had _every _reason in the world to be wary of her next words, right?

Peyton moved so her side was leaned against the back of the sofa, her eyes trained on the brooder in front of her. "It's just… things have been tense between us lately," she admitted in a low voice, "and I understand that. You had every right to be angry about what I had done our senior year, but we agreed that we would talk about it once I got back on my feet. And I am."

"_Nooooo_, you're sitting down." Lucas joked lightly, reaching out to nudge her toes with his hand for emphasis, even though he knew where this conversation was going.

She reached out to smack his leg. "I'm being serious, Luke. It's been a month and we haven't really talked about _us_, and I can't ignore it any longer." Peyton took a deep breath, "ever since we brought Anna home we have been focussed on her, and that's the way it _should _be, but we haven't talked about our fight or anything."

Lucas sighed loudly. "I know, and I'm sorry," he responded automatically, despite the fact that his heart and mind were telling him that _he _had nothing to be sorry about. He hadn't been the one to lie. "It was just easier to ignore it and move on."

But he _hadn't _moved on.

"I get that, Luke, I do." Peyton murmured softly as she offered him a slight smile, "but I think it's time we talk about it."

The brooder nodded his head and resisted the urge to pull his hand away when Peyton reached out to grab it. Instead, he squeezed her hand back when he felt her apply pressure to her hold, sending her a soft smile while he gave his fiancée his full attention. It was time to deal with everything that had been plaguing his mind for a month.

"Okay." Lucas breathed out as his azure orbs locked onto her bright green eyes, his heart twinging when he saw the look of relief that crossed the artist's features. "We can talk about it," he shrugged as though it were no longer a big deal, "ask away. Anything you want."

Peyton took a deep breath and watched him carefully, knowing that it was just as well to jump into the deep end right away. "Are we ever going to go back to being _us _again?" She asked simply, quirking an eyebrow when her fiancé blinked at her in shock.

Lucas felt his heart rate rise. Of all of the things that the strawberry blonde _could _have asked, she had to start with that question. He knew that the two of them had been different ever since their fight. They had been at each other's side constantly over the past month, their daughter at their side, but they were always reserved with each other.

It seemed as though the love that they had felt for each other had lessened over the past month and their relationship now seemed more like a business arrangement than an actual relationship - all to give Anna a proper family. They cared and loved each other, but the passion gone.

He could not even remember the last time they had even _talked _about getting married. All of their friends were hounding them, asking when they were finally going to walk down the aisle, but they never had an answer.

Their relationship had been shook to the core a month ago and they still hadn't recovered.

It felt as though they were stuck at a standstill.

"What do you mean?" He asked finally, wincing when the question reached his ears. _Way to go Lucas, play the ignorant-card once again._

"We haven't been the same since that night," Peyton explained, not feeling the need to explain what night she was referring to. "And I've been afraid to bring it up because I _don't _want us to fight again… but this, feeling like we can't connect or be _us _again… it's killing me."

Lucas looked down at her words, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying he knew he would come to regret later. She thought it was killing _her_? Did she not understand the pain she had poured into his heart when she had confessed to him what she had done?

"I want us to find a way to be who we were; a _better _version of who we were." Peyton continued to explain as she reached out to lift his chin up so he was looking at her. "And I need to know if you feel the same way," she licked her lips, "do you… do you want to find _some way _to work past this?"

She was giving him an out. Much like Brooke had done years ago at the state championship, Peyton was giving him a chance to walk away but the brooder didn't know if that was _what _he wanted. Did he want to walk away from this life? The life he could build with Peyton and Anna?

He knew what was in his heart, _who _was in his heart, but it was too late for that and for them. It was too late for them just like it was too late for him and Lindsay. It was him and Peyton - it had _always _been him and Peyton, according to most.

Being with the artist was settling, he knew that now, but whenever they were with someone else they only brought pain and heartache to their loved ones' lives. With the decisions he'd made and the things he had done, Peyton was the _only _choice.

His lips tilt up into a slight smile and he nodded. "Yeah, I do." Lucas answered, squinting a little when his words resulted in his fiancée's face lighting up. A large smile etched into her face, but he immediately noticed that something was missing. Her eyes didn't quite light up the right way and her smile was missing something, it was missing two dimples.

"As long as I have you and Anna," he breathed out, "nothing else matters."

_As long as I have you, nothing else matters._

"Thanks _god_," Peyton breathed out as she leaned over to place a peck on his lips, not even picking up on the lack of happiness that seemed to be strewn across Lucas' face. She grinned up at him, "I love you."

"Yeah, you too."

Lucas squinted at nothing as his fiancée settled herself against his side. He swallowed when he saw the smile on Peyton's face and mentally cursed himself for getting into this position. He had finally made a choice - he had chosen Peyton - and he needed to stop this. He needed to move on with his life and realise that the strawberry blonde was the one for him. His family was the most important thing in his life now and both Peyton and Anna were his future.

"Let's get married." He blurted out suddenly.

Peyton leaned away from him and frowned at him. "Um, Luke? You already asked me to marry you," she chuckled.

"No… well, _yeah_." He sighed, "but I mean let's get _married_."

Lucas felt a small part of his mind scold him for acting so rash. Being reckless was what had led him into this mess in the first place, but he knew that this was the only outcome that was now possible. He and Peyton; true love always, and sooner or later he would start to believe that again. He hoped.

Peyton blinked. "You're serious?"

"Yeah."

-TBC-


	6. Part VI

**AN: **All of you who reviewed, or even just read the last chapter, are absolutely amazing. There is nothing I love more than hearing what people think of my writing… well, I will admit to loving Tim Horton's coffee & ice caps but you have to forgive me for that one. Caffeine is a bit of an addiction for me.

Anyway, I'm so glad that most of you enjoyed the last chapter. There was a lot of Pucas, I will admit that, but they were a large part of this story as well and I felt the needed to get them out of the way so I could focus on Brooke. The poor girl needs closure. Mark always claimed that the love triangle of drama had closure, but I never really agreed with that, hence why I wrote this story. There are still several chapters left and I promise to do my best to clean up some of the messes that dear ole Mark left with us. Yes, the complete lack of both Baley and Brathan friendships are something that I am going to rectify in this story, as well as the happy ending that our dear fashion icon deserves.

Hope you enjoy the next installment.

* * *

_It doesn't matter_

_That you had the courage to tell me.  
_

The brunette released a deep breath as she sat down on one of the various benches that had been placed in the small tent for the occasion. Her heart pounded in her chest, but a part of her mind told her that she should not have been this surprised. Everyone had been waiting for this day since high school, yet Brooke could barely believe that it was there. Lucas and Peyton were getting married.

To her credit, it had been her childhood best friend that had dropped by her house to tell her the news, yet it didn't matter to the brunette that she'd had the courage to tell her the truth. Her mind was too preoccupied telling herself to keep breathing.

"How are you holding up?"

Brooke glanced up and was met with a pair of concerned eyes, her anxiety decreasing slightly as her assistant sat down beside her and clasped her hand. She knew in the back of her mind that she was being unreasonable, that there was no reason for her to be freaking out this much about the wedding. Hell, it wasn't even _her _wedding.

Aside from the fact that she was the Maid of Honour, she had absolutely no reason to feel this way about the vows that the two blondes were about to share - the vows that would tie them together for the rest of their lives, the vows that would only serve to reinforce the belief that the whole town had held since high school. Lucas Scott and Peyton Sawyer were the ones that were supposed to find each other in the end.

_People who are meant to be together always find their way in the end._

And it was a truth that had been proven over and over again. Whenever the two of them tried to fight it, to move on and be happy with someone else, the two blondes had always drifted back to each other and the someone else had been hurt. Brooke wasn't entirely sure if that made it the true love always that the brooder had talked about in his book, but she _did _know that them being together was the only way left for the story to play out.

Any other conclusion would only bring about more pain in the long run and that was the one thing that the brunette did _not _want to witness. Four casualties were enough. Lindsay, Julian, Jake and _her _was more than enough casualties for a story that should have ended back in high school.

"Right, sorry, that was a stupid question." Millicent began to babble as she chewed on her bottom lip, "Obviously you wouldn't be sitting by yourself, seconds from having an anxiety attack if you were truly okay."

The brunette felt her eyebrows crumple together in the middle of her forehead as she processed her assistant's words – _was _she truly okay? There was a small part of her heart that told her that she was miles from being truly okay but, at the same time, she did not feel the same excruciating pain that she had felt when Lucas had been about to marry Lindsay.

She could vividly remember the emotions that had been plaguing her then, tears swelling up in her hazel eyes as they locked onto the brooder, all the while her heart tried to push away the ache that it had felt so she could be there for _Peyton_. Throughout the entire ceremony though, right up until the moment Lindsay Strauss had rushed from the church, all she had been able to think about was how that could have been _her_. It had seemed as though Lucas had finally been getting the happy ending he had always wanted – one that hadn't been with Peyton, and it had made the former cheer-captain wonder if she had made the right decision.

Even now she wondered if she had made the right decision by letting the brooder go back in high school and, despite all of the heartache and drama that had descended upon the three of them recently, there was a part of her mind that told her she had. It had been wrong for her make the decision without telling Lucas the truth, without telling him what the tortured artist had done, but at the same time she knew that she never would have been able to live like that.

Even when she hadn't had a reason to worry, the fear of the two blondes betraying her once again had always been in the back of her mind. Maybe the fear would have faded over time, but there was no way she would have ever been able to enter another relationship with the brooder – not after the second kiss.

"Millie, you're a really good friend." She said suddenly as she glanced up at her assistant, her sincere words causing her friend to stop rambling while she blinked in surprise. Brooke grinned as she reached out to grip Millicent's hand tightly. "And I _am _going to be okay."

"Of course you will be – you are _Brooke Davis!_" Millicent said simply, offering her boss a wink as the fashion icon released a raspy laugh.

"Peyton, would you stop freaking out already?" Haley demanded with an exasperated glare as she walked into the tent, trailing behind the bride. "Everything is going to be fine! You're not going to run out before you say _'I do_,_' _no crazy nanny is going to kidnap your kid, and some crazy redhead isn't going to run your limo off a bridge. So you have no reason to worry – the whole world has been waiting on you two idiots since high school."

Brooke pursed her lips together at those words, knowing in her heart that they were true. Everyone had been waiting for this ending since the tortured blondes had gotten together in high school – the brunette included. The two of the getting married and ending up together meant that everything they had been through, everything that _she _had sacrificed had been worth it. It meant that what Peyton had done had been worth it in some sort of sick way, because she had gotten everything she had wanted.

_That whore stole _**my**_man._

_Okay, but it's their wedding day, so don't you think it's time you let it go?_

The strawberry blonde opened her mouth to protest, but Haley held up a hand to stop her before her brown orbs rested on the fashion icon. "Would you tell her to relax, please?"

"You should listen to Tutor-Mom, she's rarely wrong." Brooke said softly as she stood up from where she had been sitting on the bench, offering the bride a small smile.

Haley blinked. "Excuse me – _rarely wrong_? When have I even been wrong?"

She kinked an eyebrow. "When you choose to threaten the stable ship known as Naley by going on tour with an egocentric musician named Chris Killer, which was _after _you kissed said egocentric musician."

"You look amazing, Peyton." Millicent said kindly once they had stopped laughing at the expression on Haley's face, her eyes taking in the wedding dress that the fashion icon had made for her childhood best friend.

Brooke snorted while the confidence that she had always held shining through with her next comment. "Of course she looks amazing, Millie – _I _made the dress. Everything I make looks amazing."

"But of course!"

Hazel orbs rolled in annoyance as she straightened out the wrinkled in her dress. "I'm gonna go make sure that Sam hasn't roped Jamie into any shenanigans and make sure everything is ready to go," Brooke explained as she made her way to the opening in the tent, pausing briefly to look back at the strawberry blonde. "You really do look amazing, Peyton."

Peyton allowed a ghost of a smile to cross her face.

**-x-**

"Ouch… arghh – _mother fucker!_" Brooke hissed as she stumbled slightly on the loose gravel, scowling down at the six inch heels that she had opted for wearing to the wedding. Walking in heels had been a skill that she had mastered during her youth, but she had never thought that she would have to go off-road in them.

Genuine laughter suddenly floated into her ears and the fashion icon glanced up, her hazel orbs instantly locking onto the brooder who was gazing at her in genuine amusement. His lips tilting up into the famous Scott smirk was enough to have her ruby lips pulling down into a frown while she placed her hands on her hips. She understood that Lucas had always had a peculiar sense of humor, but that did not mean he got to laugh at her. She didn't care if it was his wedding day or not.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, because this is so _your _fault." Brooke grumbled as she kinked her signature eyebrow, as if she were daring him to refute her words. "You're the one that decided to have a spur of the moment wedding outside, effectively not giving me time to go buy proper shoes for the occasion – I mean, couldn't you have had it somewhere with proper flooring?"

He blinked at her rambling.

She huffed in annoyance, her hazel orbs narrowing at him as she finished her rant. "At any rate, you don't get to tease me."

_You don't get to tease me._  
_Okay, I'll stop._

"Okay, I'll stop!" Lucas assured, his broody expression etching into his face as the brunette nodded and slowly walked over to him, focussing solely on her feet and completely missing the way that his blue orbs had locked onto her.

Brooke had her hair swept up into an updo – something that he had noticed she _always _did at formal occasions now – and her usual ruby-coloured lipstick covered her lips while a strapless grey dress hugged all of her curves. She looked absolutely amazing; something that didn't really surprise him in the least, but even possessing such knowledge could not stop the sigh of relief that escaped his lips. She wasn't wearing _red_.

"Why _are _the two of you getting married outside, anyway?" Brooke questioned suddenly, tilting her head to the side in confusion as she remembered the almost-wedding that the brooder had had a little over a year before. She remembered all of the talks that the two of them had shared beforehand, some had been about the wedding while the others had been about the little things that _real _friends talked about, but at rate she remembered how much he had expressed his want to have a normal, traditional wedding in the same church Keith had almost married Jules – or whatever her real name had been.

Lucas blinked at her once again, the same memories flooding back to him.

And just like that, his broody expression was back in fully force as he remembered the conversation that he and Peyton had had about _where _they would have the wedding. She had wanted it outside in a specific place that meant so much to _him_, but he had declined without really telling her why he couldn't do it, the two of them eventually deciding to have it near the lake where they had shared their first real conversation – the lake where they had really first began.

"Um, Luke?" Brooke questioned unsurely.

"Peyton wanted to have it at the river court," he suddenly blurted out.

Brooke felt her back stiffen at his words, shock engraving its way into her features as her eyes locked onto his; hazel meeting icy blue. Her mind reeling as she tried to decipher the emotions that were coursing through her veins. She knew she could not fault the tortured artist for wanting to have it there. Peyton had never been told what the place had meant to the former cheer-captain – what it had meant to two people known as Pretty Girl and Boyfriend.

Her childhood best friend had never been told about that night at the river court, and to Peyton it was merely a piece of asphalt that meant so much to Lucas. To her it was the place where she had declared her love to the brooder with lyrics about love and a piece of artwork that had taken her all night.

He grimaced as he took in her expression, knowing that she too knew it would have been wrong to have the wedding there.

"But I couldn't because of what it meant to me – what is meant to _us_." Lucas spoke softly as he once again locked his gaze onto her face, the grateful expression on her face more than enough for him to know that he had made the right decision. He had caused his Pretty Girl enough pain over the years, but through everything that he had done, that memory of the river court had been left untouched. He had never put it in the manuscript for his book because he had wanted to keep it to himself, and he had never said those words to anyone else. It had only been Brooke Davis that he had fully let into his world – making her the most important part of his life.

_This is my world._

_So do I get to be a part of this world?_

_The biggest part._

"Thank-you," she breathed out as he reached out to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, brushing away a lone tear before she offered him a slight smile. "I don't think I would have made it through the day if it had been…"

Silence descended upon the two of them.

"You know I love you, right?" Lucas asked after a beat, his blue orbs seeking her eyes as his eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of his forehead. He would go through with the wedding because he knew that it was what was best for him, for Peyton, for his daughter, and for _Brooke_, but he had to know that she knew he loved her too. She had to know that he wished he could take back all of the pain that he had caused her over the past six years.

"Yeah," she cleared her throat and offered him a tightly, brushing some imaginary lint from her dress. "But, um, I have to go make sure that crazy daughter of mine hasn't roped Jamie into some crazy plan and _then _we have to get you married."

Lucas bobbed his head up and down, his blue orbs locking onto something in the distance before he looked back at the brunette. "Yeah but, um, I know that you don't have a date for the wedding…"

"Luke, it was kind of short notice."

"Yeah, but _maybe _I invited someone for you." He shrugged nonchalantly, yet everything about his tone and posture told the brunette that it wasn't a hypothetical situation. Lucas had actually went and pimped her out to some guy so she would have a date for his wedding and she couldn't help but scowl at him.

"_Lucas_, you cannot do that to me. I am _not _some pity date and…" She muttered under her breath, shaking her head in anger as she pictured the evening that she now saw herself having – one that now included having to entertain some random stranger who knew nothing about her and would do his best to charm her. Her interest perked as she kinked an eyebrow – maybe he would provide the kind of distraction she needed. "… Is he hot?"

"You tell me," he commented as he gestured behind her.

Brooke frowned and turned around, coming face to face with Julian Baker, his usual illegal grin absent from his face as he approached her. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets and a sheepish expression was etched into his face, but it was _him_ and the fashion icon was happy to see him. She had missed countering all of his witty comments and she _knew _that Sam would be happy to see him.

"I'm going to be over there…" she heard the brooder exclaim before he ran off, but her eyes never left Julian.

"From your face I'm guessing you didn't know they invited me." Julian said knowingly as he stopped in front of her, his lips lifting up into a slight smile as she shook her head no, "Though I will admit that part of me did _not _want to come."

Brooke frowned, "then why did you?"

"Because, just like you, I need to be here." He answered simply, the fashion icon nodding in understanding, instantly knowing what he meant. Julian had also had his heart trampled over because of the Peyton and Lucas romance, making him one of the few people that completely understood how she was feeling. He had to be there because he had to see them end up together, proving to himself that he had been right to walk out on Peyton just like she needed to prove to herself that she had made the right decision to break-up with the brooder.

Because it had always been Lucas and Peyton.

Brooke chewed on her bottom lip before she looked at him with a serious expression, her hazel orbs searching his warm brown eyes. "How about we make a deal? I promise I won't freak-out about how Lucas and Peyton are totally trying to set us up as some weird way of getting over the guilt they feel for smashing our hearts, on one condition."

He flashed the illegal grin that she had missed so much, "why do I feel like I'm about to sell my soul to the devil?"

She rolled her eyes upwards as she allowed for her body to slump against him, frowning a little when he didn't seem at all uncomfortable with the contact. Part of her had thought that he would shy away from it, especially after the way things had ended. Julian had offered to take her away from Tree Hill and all of the drama that came with it, an offer that would have sounded like heaven at the present, but she had turned him down and they hadn't talked since. Instead though, he seemed completely at ease and she knew it was because he understood.

Both of them had forced themselves to get over the tortured blonde that had stolen their heart, but such a fact didn't make being at their wedding any easier. Though it meant that they had both been right to walk away from their relationship that hadn't had a chance, it also meant that all of their insecurities had been right as well.

"Julian, I'm being serious here because there is no way we're going to survive this wedding otherwise." The former cheer-captain mumbled, her face pressed into his chest muffling her words as he draped his arms around her in a loose hug.

"Okay," he breathed out, "what's the condition?"

"We don't let the other sneak off to get wasted and have slutty wedding sex because we both know that it won't make us feel any better in the morning, in fact it will only make it worst, and we stick together no matter what."

"That's actually _two _conditions."

Brooke pulled away from the hug and shook her head. "No it's not, it all falls under one rule – those are just the subsections."

"And the one rule is?"

"We're a team."

"Deal," Julian nodded his head and draped one of his arms over her shoulder once again, slowly leading her in the direction of where the ceremony would be taking place shorty. He tilted his head to the side though, grinning a little when something popped into his head, "team _Brulian_."

She turned her head to face him, kinking an eyebrow, "_Brulian_?"

"It would totally be our couple name."

There was a teasing tone to his words, but she still felt her smile falling from her lips as she looked at him seriously. The last thing she wanted was to lead him on because more pain was one thing that he did not need any more of – even though Julian did a good job at pretending to be indifferent to it all – and she did not want to give him any false ideas.

"Julian, we…"

"Relax, Davis. I don't have expectations for tonight, okay?" Julian soothed her with a wink, "tonight I'm just here to be there for a friend. I'm here for you."

_Now it turns out everyone was right, I am here for the girl in the book – the other girl._

Brooke nodded her head as she released a sigh of relief. He held a place in her heart and she knew that in some way she _did _love Julian – she just didn't know if he was her _always and forever _Naley-esque sort of true love and she would not risk getting into a romantic relationship like that until she knew for sure. At that moment she was more than happy to call the producer her friend and that he was where she needed him the most – he was there for _her_.

Tonight was about the two of them healing their hearts, paving the way for something better in the future, whether it was the two of them that were meant to be together or if they would eventually find their way to someone else. Either way, they were _friends_.

**-x-**

Brooke released a slow breath as she watched her childhood best friend walk up the aisle towards her future, her arm looped through her father's while she paused briefly to wave to her daughter who was contently being held by her grandmother. She swallowed deeply and tried to remind herself that this was no longer the dream that she had for herself – this was the dream that a naïve cheer-captain had dreamed up in high school because she had been blind to all of the signs that had pointed to the two blondes ending up together.

Her hazel orbs avoided the groom and instead locked onto his brother's penetrating gaze, relief flooding over her when she saw his lips lift up into a comforting smile. It wasn't his usual smirk, nor was it the cocky grin that she had become accustomed to over the years – instead if was simple grin that easily communicated the message, _I'm here for you and I have your back._

She sent a dimpled grin his way before her eyes floated over the rest of her friends – Haley, Millicent, Mouth and even Skills – before they drifted down to the crowd and rested on the two brunettes who were sitting together. Julian's brown orbs instantly locked with her hazel ones, the two of them holding the gaze until her daughter said something that caused the producer to pull away and elbow her in the side.

Something told her that she _didn't _want to know what Sam had said.

Her signature dimples finally poked out in her cheeks when she realised that all of her friend would be there for her no matter what. It didn't matter that most of them had known the brooder longer, or even that some of them were blood related to him – they were _her _family too and they had her back as much as they had his.

All of her friends could now see her beaming smile.

Part of her just wished that they could see her beaming heart.

"We are gathered here today…" the minister suddenly began as he stood in front of the couple, a genuine smile on his face as he watched the couple glance at each other with soft smiles on their faces. The two of them were finally getting their happy ending and to anyone looking on, all they would see would be two people who loved each other entering the next step of their lives. That was what their friends saw as well but, thanks to all of the past issues that had been dragged up over a month ago, they also remembered how many hearts had been smashed to get them to today – not that any of them had really forgotten about the love triangle from hell and all of the pain it had caused.

She licked her lips when her childhood friend turned around to retrieve the ring that the fashion icon was holding, Brooke offering the strawberry blonde a small smile before she turned around to face Lucas once again. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could barely focus on what was happening as hazel orbs locked onto the couple once again – her eyes briefly meeting Lucas' before she looked away.

Everything he had said to her since the night he had learned the truth was swimming around in her mind, but she refused to process what they really meant. She knew that the brooder loved her and that things could have probably turned out differently if she had just _told _him what Peyton had said back in high school – but that was all in the past now and there was nothing they could do to change it. Part of her would always love him, just like a part of him would always love her and a part of Julian would always love Peyton, but _this _was the only way that the story could end now.

Brooke could not become that girl again; the insecure cheerleader who had been frightened to death constantly that the two people she loved most would betray her all over again, just like they all knew that the tortured couples had been meant to be together for the past five years. There had been a time it had been _her_, but after everything that happened it was now _Peyton _that he was meant to be with.

She pursed her lips together. Maybe there was no one person that was meant for someone else – maybe it was just a matter of when. Eventually everyone was ready for their own happy ending and, when you were ready to settle down and have the happily after, the person that you were with _then _became the one for you.

Peyton cleared her throat as she took a hold of the brooder's hands. "Lucas Scott… we've been through so much together and, despite how confused I've been or how lost I might have gotten over the years, there was always you. You were always acting as a constant in my life – always there to find me and save me when I needed it, when I needed _you_."

Brooke exhaled.

"You deserve to be loved and adored and looked after, especially after all of the years that you have been there unconditionally for all the ones you love, so that's what we're going to do – your baby and me." Peyton continued simply as she slowly began to slide the ring onto her soon-to-be-husband's finger. "We are going to adore you for years to come because I am so _terribly _in love with you, Lucas Scott. And I always will be."

Brooke glanced out into the crowd once again and met Julian's eyes, her ruby lips lifting up into a comforting smile when she saw the pained expression on his face. The tortured artist had been the first girl he had ever loved and the fact that she would _always _love Lucas Scott was the reason his heart had been shattered in the first place. He understood what it meant to be the third person in the damned love triangle.

_You should know that being the third person in the Lucas and Peyton love triangle doesn't end well._

_For who?_

"Peyton, you've owned a piece of my heart from the first time I saw you – a piece that no one else has ever been able to possess." Lucas' voice suddenly interrupted, his blue orbs glancing past his bride to meet the brunette's hazel eyes as they shot over to his face.

It seemed as though he had finally accepted the truth that she had told him weeks before. It didn't matter if it was the former cheer-captain that he had loved, nor did it matter that a part of him still loved her now because there had always been a part of him reserved for Peyton.

_"Don't, Luke." Brooke had pleaded, shaking her head when he glanced up at her in confusion. "Don't get caught up in the __what ifs__. Not now__.__ Not know that you're finally happy."_

_"With you," he had muttered before he had locked gazes with her. "I __could __have been happy with __you__."_

_Hazel orbs had rolled at his words and huffed in annoyance. "And you're __still __hung up on that."_

_"Brooke…"_

_"No, Luke." She had hissed as she marched towards him, using all of her strength to pull him to his feet. "You have a daughter now – you have a __family! __Yet you're moments from throwing it away, and for what?"_

_He had opened his mouth to respond, surely about to throw out some incredibly charming answer that would make her heart race while it shattered it into a million at the same time. ""I just talked to Peyton," she had thrown out randomly to cut him off, a comment that had caused Lucas to blink at her in surprise. "She's still here and she loves you, Luke, just like you love her."_

_"But I love you __too__."_

_"Luke, you have got to stop doing this to yourself. You have got to stop complicating your life whenever you're happy. You have this chance to have a great life, why would you jeopardize that?"_

_"Because I need to know that I made the right choice."_

_She had scowled. "Lucas."_

_"I don't think you understand how much this has been tearing me apart, Brooke. We were only kids the last time we were together, but you were __it __for me and I still love you, I always will, but I'm with Peyton now and I __do __love her." _

_She had seen then how much he was struggling – trying to find a way to voice his thoughts._

_"But I don't love her the way I loved you,__" he had decided on, "__and I'm never going to."_

_She had swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "What do you want me to say, Lucas?" _

_"Just tell me why, Brooke. I want you to tell me why it was so easy for you to give up on us back in high school," he had said sternly, __"__And I don't want any of that bullshit about you thinking it wouldn't have made a difference if I had known. This one time, I want the truth from you."_

_"You think it was __easy __for me to give up on us?" Her voice had broken when she had asked that, shaking her head. "You were the first boy I ever loved, Luke, but you never let __me __all the way in, but it seemed like __**you always let Peyton in**__. And, after a while, it was impossible for me to ignore the voices in the back of my head and I gave up."_

_Lucas had closed his eyes in pain, regret, and acceptance._

Nathan suddenly cleared his throat and the brunette blinked away from her thoughts quickly, smiling sheepishly when she realised she had missed the rest of the ceremony and the tortured couple were making their way down the aisle while the raven-haired athlete held out his arm for her to take.

He was the best man so she would be walking with him while Haley walked back down the aisle with Skills.

"Never thought you would be walking down the aisle with me, did ya Davis?" Nathan questioned with a smirk, ignoring the fashion icon's scowl as they continued to walk away from the altar.

Her hazel orbs rolled upwards before she looked straight ahead, faltering slightly when she saw the newly married couple in front of her – suddenly remembering the words that she had spoken to Julian when he had first arrived in Tree Hill. Part of her wished that someone had said some derivative of it to her back in high school – maybe then she would have saved her heart from the heartache, maybe then her friendship with both Lucas and Peyton would have been as strong as it had been back then.

_I think it's pretty clear from the book that if you're not Lucas or Peyton, you should just forget about it._

"I got you," Nathan whispered into her ear, his voice full of understanding.

Finally, that chapter of her life was over.

**-x-**

Brooke rested her chin on her closed fist as she glanced around the room, smiling slightly when she watched Nathan give his best man speech – her smile widening even further when the athlete continued to bring up the happier moments of the Lucas and Peyton triangle. She had no idea if it had been a coincidence or if he had planned it that way, but he never brought up any memories from high school. The love triangle of drama was not brought up and the fashion icon mentally thanked him for that.

Though they were no longer such an active part of her life, and hadn't been a hell of a lot longer than she wanted to admit, the newlyweds still meant a lot to her and this was their day. There was no need of casting a cloud of heartache over it by mentioning the past – the things that no longer mattered.

"Here have a drink – you look like you could use one." Haley whispered as she slid onto the seat beside the fashion icon, grinning slightly as she held the drink in front of the brunette until Brooke sighed in defeat and accepted it.

Brooke nearly gagged and sent the teacher an annoyed scowl as she hissed under her breath, not wanting to draw attention to herself since Nathan was still giving the speech that the fashion icon _knew _he had spent a lot of time on. "Haley James Scott, what the hell? Are you _trying _to kill me? That was _disgusting_ – what the hell was it, anyway?"

"You guess is as good as mine, Chase is over at the bar trying to come up with new drinks and I told him that you could use one and _that_, my good friend, was the result." Haley answered softy as she focussed on her husband, a sly grin crossing her face as she glanced at the brunette out of the corner of her eye. "Besides, you can think of it as payback for when you nearly poisoned all of us when you had Owen mix his sweetest alcohol with the most popular."

Brooke rolled her eyes.

She opened her mouth to throw back some witty comment that only she could think of, only for her actions to be interrupted when the room broke out into applause and everyone took a sip of their champagne as Nathan finished his speech. His speech was over, which meant that it was time for the Maid of Honour to stand up and give her speech – it was time for _her _speech.

"Wish me luck," Brooke murmured as she got to her feet and slowly made her way up to the microphone, feeling as though time was moving slowly as she mentally ran through her speech once more before she took the final few steps. Weeks before, after the fight that the two childhood friends had shared, the fashion icon had vowed that she would come up with the most kick ass speech that she could think of – it was the least she owed Peyton.

Peyton was _not _the only one to blame for everything that had gone wrong.

But that did not mean that Brooke could forgive and forget – maybe the reason that she had never been able to fully forgive the angsty couple was because she had never been able to forget everything that had happened. Was it even possible to forgive if you could never forget? She didn't think so.

She breathed out as she stepped up to the microphone. "A few weeks ago I promised someone that I would give her the most kick ass Maid of Honour speech that I could think of, but how does one even go about summarizing someone's love story into a few short words – _especially _one that has been in the making for so long? The truth is, I had no idea how to do that so I enlisted the help of my beloved Tutor-Mom and decided to share something with all of you."

Brooke licked her lips and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her clutch, her eyes sweeping over the crowd as she held it in her hand. "By now I'm pretty sure that the whole world knows about how Lucas declared his love for Peyton in written words, publishing his own love story so that it would live in the hearts of many – but I don't think many of you know that he was writing about Peyton _long _before our junior year."

Confusion etched into the brooder's face as he listened to her words, his eyes widening when he saw her unfold the piece of paper – instantly knowing what it was. It was the list of predictions that he had made every year with his best friend. Predictions that all had to do with the strawberry blonde at his side, all but one, the one that he had made at the beginning of his senior year – _'this year I will try again with Brooke.' _

And he had tried.

"Every year two best friends would make predictions about how they thought their year would go, predictions about what amazing things would happen, and for one broody blonde most of them said the same thing so I'm going to read you one in particular. Eighth grade – Peyton Sawyer will become Peyton Scott. He hadn't even spoken to her before but even back then he had known that the two of them would end up together… even though he wouldn't have the balls to talk to her until her our senior year and she would be a complete bitch to him."

The whole room broke out into laughter.

_It has always been Lucas and Peyton._

"That was only the beginning of their journey though. The two of them have faced a lot since high school and have even started quite a few love triangles, but each and every time the two of them find their way back to each other. That is because love conquers all, even though that doesn't mean that there are not going to be hard days or difficult things to deal with, because we all know there will be – but finding that person that loves you back makes it a hell of a lot easier to face."

_You guys are meant to be together…_

"In the eighth grade the dream was 'Peyton Sawyer will become Peyton Scott,' and though it took them ten years to get there, today we were all there to witness that dream coming true. So here is to Lucas _and _Peyton Scott – two people who today proved that a sixteen year old Brooke Davis knew what she was talking about." Her eyes locked onto Lucas' blue orbs and she could see from his watery eyes that he knew what she was about to say. "People that are meant to be together always find their way in the end – and this, the two of them standing here together, is the way that it was supposed to be all along, so congradu-_leyton _to the both of you."

… _It's the way it's supposed to be._

**-x-**

"That was quite the speech you gave, Brooke Davis – and I'm proud of you for it because we both know how difficult that was for you."

Her lips lifted up into a slight smile at the sound of the familiar voice.

"You know, you have been unusually quiet ever since I arrived in Tree Hill," Karen mused softly as she sat down next to the fashion icon and pursed her lips into a thin line, her brown orbs emitting warmth as she gazed at the former cheer-captain. "And it would be complete and utter lie if I said that it didn't have a little worried."

Brooke released a soft sigh and looked away from the dance floor and allowed for her gaze to drift over to the older brunette, her ruby lips lifting up into a full smile when she saw the genuine concern on Karen's face – even though both of them instantly noticed how her dimples failed to appear in the middle of each cheek.

"Karen," she huffed simply, "you worry too damn much."

"I'm a mom; it's my job to worry."

"But you're not _**my**_ mom."

"Brooke Penelope Davis you have been like a daughter to me since you were sixteen years old." Karen said pointedly, her brown orbs narrowing in warning as she sent the fashion icon a look that she had learned to fear back in high school. "So you should know by now that, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here to listen – even when I'm not in town I'm only a phone call away."

Hope fluttered in her chest as she pursed her lips together, struggling to keep herself from bursting into a long rant when she heard Karen's heartfelt words. There was a part of her that wanted to spill her heart out to the caring woman because she knew in the pit of her stomach that she needed to talk to _someone _about her feelings but, just like everyone else in her life, Brooke was afraid of putting the older brunette in the middle of it all.

Yet she also knew that she would end up having a mental breakdown if she did not talk to someone about how she felt about Lucas and Peyton finally getting married – especially after everything that had happened over the past month, after everything that had come to light over the past month. But could she really confide in Karen on her son's wedding day?

Hell, she didn't even know if older brunette knew about what had happened.

She figured that was a good place to start.

"Do you… do you know what happened? Between me and…" Brooke trailed off as she threw her hand out, gesturing to the newlyweds who were dancing together, while her lips pursing together as she turned her head and searched Karen's eyes for the truth.

Karen's shoulder slumped as she nodded. "Yes. Lucas told me everything a couple of days ago when I confronted him and asked how come you and Peyton, of even you and him, didn't seem as close as you did the last time I was home." Was her simple response, nothing in her tone conveying any of her thoughts on what had happened between the three of them.

All that she knew was that she heard was _no _judgement in the older woman's voice. Even though Karen was the brooder's mother and Peyton was now her daughter-in-law, her brown orbs held both sympathy and a loving quality as she gazed at the fashion icon and it warmed Brooke's heart to know that it was aimed at _her_.

Brooke caught her bottom lip between her teeth before she dove right in and asked Karen the one question that she needed answering. Haley had told her that it was up to her when she decided to let the couple back into her life – or even _if _she let them into her life and even Nathan had promised her that he had her back. It had been a promise that she knew he had given to his brother and Peyton as well, but it warmed her heart to know that they were there for her _too_.

"Karen, I need you to be honest with me. Do you think I'm being childish about this?" She asked as she turned her tear-filled eyes on the older woman. "Because everyone keeps telling me that they have my back and it's up to _me _to decide what I'm going to do about everything, but I've been trying to figure out how I feel about all of this for a month now and my mind is still swimming. There is this part of me that is so happy for them and everything they have, but there's this other part that's just… tired – tired of getting hurt by them, then pretending that it doesn't hurt, and I'm just tired of all of it."

Karen released a breath before she placed her calculated gaze on the dancing couple, several moments of silence passing before she shook her head. "No, I don't think you're being childish by putting yourself first for once."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow. "But…?"

"But I think you need to think about _why _you're happy for them and ask yourself if you're happy for the right reasons, Brooke." Karen continued as she returned her gaze to the fashion icon. "When you say you're happy for them, do you mean it, or are you only saying it as your way of pretending that it doesn't hurt?"

Her hazel orbs opened while her mouth opened, fully prepared to defend how she had claimed to feel, but Karen merely shook her head and cut off the former cheer-captain before Brooke could utter one word.

"Brooke, you are allowed to be hurt that they got married."

"But I haven't been with Lucas in years!"

"But he _was_ the first boy you ever loved, the one that you envisioned your future with and that means it _is_ okay for you to feel hurt. You can feel hurt and move on at the same time," she said simply with a ghost of smile, "but no amount of pretending will ever erase the fact that you loved my son because you know what? You never forget your first love, Brooke."

"Were you hurt?" Brooke asked softly, knowing the topic of Dan was not easy for the older brunette. "When Dan didn't love you enough to choose you over Deb?"

Karen nodded slightly. "Yeah, I was."

She pouted slightly in thought as she glanced back out at the dance floor, catching her ex-boyfriend's eyes, looking away after several seconds when she saw the imploring look that Lucas' eyes had held. Maybe his mother was right. Maybe there was a way for her to move on from all of the drama while still acknowledging that it did hurt.

"And you know what? I may have been hurt when Dan didn't choose me, but I did find love again." Karen pointed out as she thought briefly of Keith before her eyes drifted over to Andy, nudging the fashion icon lightly. "And, in regards to Dan Scott, I would say I dodged one hell of a bullet - don't ya think?"

Brooke snorted in agreement.

"You will find love again, Brooke." Karen continued, speaking with such confidence that for a brief moment she made the fashion icon believe that, with time, everything would work itself out and she would find her own happy ending. All she wanted was to have what Nathan and Haley had, what Peyton and Lucas had – she wanted to go home every night to a man that loved her and a family. She had her daughter; her Sam, but she couldn't help but want _more_.

Karen sighed, "You just have to open your heart and _allow _yourself to love."

Her ruby lips tilted down in thought. "I know that you're right – about all of it, but I don't know how to let _them _back into my life again. They've hurt me so bad but by holding this grudge I feel like I'm turning into my mother because she _never _got over the heartache that my father put her through when they were married then… then she became a bitter person because of it and I _do not _want to turn into her."

"That's not even possible." The other brunette scoffed as she reached out to place her hand on top of Brooke's, smiling gently, "If there is one thing I have learned over the past seven years, it's that you take everything that comes at you, and you face it."

"That's because I always wanted to be like you."

_I've always wondered where that strength came from, that dignity and grace you have put on in the face of everything that's happened in your life, because I really wanna be that kind of person._

_You already __**are **__Brooke Davis; you've come further than anyone I know._

Karen grinned. "You are twice the person that I could ever be and, I know that I've already told you this, but you've come further than anyone I have ever known." Her brown eyes welled up with tears of happiness as she tightened her hold on the fashionista's hand. "You've come a long way from being that crazy, gabby party girl that I first met, and I am so proud of the person you became."

Brooke shook her head as she tried to fight the tears, a raspy laugh falling from her lips as she narrowed her eyes at the older brunette. "Karen, stop it! You're gonna make me ruin my make-up!"

Karen rolled her eyes before her expression turned serious. "You're gonna be okay, Brooke Davis." She vowed before she pointed her chin in the direction of Sam. "And, if the smile on her face has anything to say about it, you're going to be one hell of a mother once the adoption papers go through."

Brooke felt her eyes wander over to where Sam and her godson were attempting to dance, her dimples coming into view as a genuine smile crossed her face, only for her eyes to flutter shut when Karen stood up and placed a kiss on the top of her head. Why, oh why, hadn't she been blessed with a mother such Karen Roe?

"And, something for you to think about…" the older brunette said as she stared down at Brooke, her eyebrow arched slightly. "But maybe you need to heal yourself and figure out what _you_ want out of your life before you accept Lucas and Peyton back into it." She offered Brooke a wink as she walked away. "Just think about it."

Brooke opened her mouth to ask Karen what she meant, only for her lips to tilt down into a pout when the older brunette walked away, her hazel orbs immediately squinting together in thought.

_The question is, Brooke__,__ why are you so insistent on going through life alone?_

**-x-**

He watched as the older brunette walked away and downed the rest of his drink before he nodded to himself, walking over to the fashion icon with a look of pure determination etched into his face. Today was about more than witnessing Lucas' childhood dream coming true like Brooke had said, it was also about the two of them – two of the many footnotes, healing their own hearts and paving the road for something even better in the future.

"How about a dance?" He questioned as he stopped in front of Brooke, holding out his hand for her to accept as he placed his charming illegal grin on his face, knowing that it did wonders against the defences that the fashion icon had around her heart. It had the same effect on everyone – much like her own dimpled smile and pout usually got Brooke what she wanted.

Hazel orbs glanced up at him and Brooke released a frown, "Julian…"

"How about this – either you dance with me or you declare your undying love for me and we sneak off and have the slutty wedding sex that happens at _every _wedding." Julian shrugged with a cute friend.

"We are _so _not going to be friends very long if you keep this up," Brooke muttered as she accepted his hand and allowed for him to lead her out to the middle of the dance floor before he let his hands rest comfortably on her hip.

"Why, because of my impeccable charm and the irrefutable desire you feel to rip the clothes from my body?" Julian teased lightly, allowing for a small laugh to escape his lips even though his heart wasn't really in it. At any rate though, it was worth the eye roll he received from the brunette.

"You would like to think that, but no it's because you're starting to annoy the hell out of me, _friend_." Brooke grinned, opting for releasing her own small laugh before her hazel orbs once again drifter over to Sam and her godson – shaking her head when she realised that they had given up on attempting to waltz and were now doing the chicken dance.

"And that is one thing that will never change, for the rest of your life you will be able to count on having Julian Baker there to annoy you to the brink of insanity – no need to worry about that one," He vowed. His words were light and teasing even though his eyes told her that he was completely serious. Even if the two of them never got together again, he would always be there for her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," and she found it funny that she meant it, but her lips tilted down into a frown when she remembered the last time that she had seen the producer. "Julian, listen, about that day in the airport when you asked me…"

"Brooke, it's okay. Apparently a sixteen year old Brooke Davis once said that people who were meant to be together always find their way in the end, so if we're meant to be we will find our way back. And if not?" Julian shrugged as he smiled down at her, "then we'll both just have to accept that we weren't meant to be and that we could only heal our broken hearts so much by being together. At the very least though, I'd like to think we could manage being _friends_."

Brooke grinned, "I think we can."

Once again he gave her that smile that she had missed so much over the past couple of months and she leaned her head against his chest, exhaling slowly as all of Karen's previous words ran through her mind. She had to figure out what the hell she wanted and all she knew at that moment was that being around Julian made her happy.

And for right then, that was enough for her.

"Sam told me that you're adopting her and that you're just waiting for the papers to go through," Julian said after a few moments of silence as the song around them changed, resting his chin on Brooke's head. "I think it's great."

"Me too, and so does my _mother _who for some reason seems to genuinely like Sam – which is odd because she doesn't like anyone." Brooke admitted in confusion, her lips pulling down into a frown as her eyebrows knitted together in the middle of her forehead. "And get this; _Sam _seems to genuinely like _her_."

"Maybe Bitchtoria is slowly brainwashing her so she can use Sam against you." Julian suggested with a chuckle, remembering all of the horror stories that Brooke had told her about her mother – stories that he had responded to by offering up his own hellish memories of his father.

"Oh god – please don't even get that thought in my head." Brooke pleaded with a laugh as she pictured the image that had popped inside of her head, knowing that she wouldn't have put it past her mother to come up with such a plan.

She felt Julian's body shake with laughter and she rolled her eyes as she glanced around the room, her ruby lips tilted up into a smile when she saw all of her friends having a good time, only for her hazel orbs to rest on the newlyweds. Peyton and Lucas had returned to their table and were talking happily with Lucas' sister while she carefully held baby Anna in her arms.

Regardless of everything that had happened a month ago, she had a feeling that the two of them would be happy in time. Haley had confronted her while they had been setting up for the wedding, saying that she thought that the two of them were jumping into a wedding _way _too fast after everything that had happened – as if it had been their way of burying how they really felt.

Brooke agreed.

She knew how much difficulty that the brooder had been having with the truths that his eyes had been opened up to and there was a part of her that knew that Peyton was also struggling with it all – her own eyes finally being open to everything that she had done, everything that had happened, everything that _she _had manipulated into happening.

But she had merely shrugged when Haley had voiced her concern because it was no longer her problem – if they wanted to rush into marriage and end up settling or _whatever_; it had nothing to do with her. She would never wish bad things on the couple, nor would she go around acting like a bitter bitch when it came to them, but she was done with everything that had to do with them.

It was time for all of them to bury whatever had been going on between them since high school. Like she had told the brooder a month ago, the two of them were finally together and it was time for the footnotes to find their own happy ending. For that to happen though, they had to heal themselves and that could not happen by being around Peyton and Lucas' _true love always _– maybe Lindsay and Jake had both had the right idea in staying away from the small town.

Being around the tortured couple would never be easy for any of them, merely because they had been the footnotes.

And that hurt – because the blondes had meant so much more to them.

_It sucks being the footnote in someone else's love story_

"You know what I find the most difficult to accept about them getting married?" Brooke questioned softly as she watched the newlyweds from her position in Julian's arms, a frown on her face.

"That they smashed as many hearts as humanely possible to get to this point?"

"No… well, _yeah_." Brooke corrected when she heard the producer laugh at her, pulling away from him slightly so she could look up into his eyes as she continued to speak. "It's the fact that Lucas is never going to love her the way that you did, just like she is never going to love him the way that I did."

The love that the tortured blondes held for each other would never equal the love that Julian and Brooke had held for them. Not because they didn't love each other, but because they hadn't been each other's first love. For Peyton it had been Jake, for Brooke it had been Lucas, for Julian it had been Peyton, and for Lucas it had been the former cheer-captain – and that was what broke the fashion icon's heart the most.

_You never forget your first love._

**-x-**

Three weeks had passed since the wedding.

Summer had officially arrived, freeing Sam from school for three months – that being the reason the fashion icon was scared.

Brooke chewed on her bottom lip as she stood in front of the door, rolling her eyes when she felt fear settle in the pit of her stomach, releasing a long breath as she shook her head in disgust and lifted up her hand to knock on the front door. Almost immediately voices within the house started to shout; Haley was telling Nathan to get it, Nathan was saying he was busy and _she _should get it, only for his wife to respond by saying she was cooking supper and couldn't leave the stove unattended.

Her lips lifted up into a grin – her beloved Naley were crazy.

Suddenly the door swung open and she jumped back in shock, blinking in surprise when she saw her godson grinning up at her with a toothy grin as he launched himself at her. Brooke swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she bent down to his level and pulled him in for a tight hug. All of a sudden her plan seemed a hell of a lot harder.

"James Lucas Scott," his mother scolded as she walked out of the kitchen, "what have I told you about answering the door when… Brooke?"

Brooke glanced up from the hug, tears welling up in her hazel orbs as she continued to hold her godson, afraid of what would happen if she let him go. She had already talked it over with Sam and Millicent and – god forbid – _Victoria _and she knew that they understood why she had to do it. For her to do what she and Karen had talked about, it was something that she _had _to do.

She just prayed that her Naley plus one would be as understanding.

Fear gripped Haley's heart as she rushed forward. "Tigger – what happened, what's wrong?"

She shook her head to stop the former tutor from continuing as she glanced down at the little boy in her arms, laughing when he whined and pulled away from her hug, claiming that breathing was still a necessity for him. Brooke placed her usual smile on her face as she listened to him babble on, only to sigh in relief when she heard his mother tell him to tell his father that supper was almost ready.

"Brooke, what the hell is going on?" Haley demanded the moment her son was out of the room, her warm brown orbs resting on the fashion icon as she placed her hands on her hips. She just _knew _that something was bothering her friend – she had always been able to tell – and she damn well wanted to know what had Brooke near tears because of a _hug_.

Brooke exhaled slowly as they stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment of silence, allowing for her words to escape her lips in a ramble. "I'm going back to New York," she blurted out as fast as she could, knowing that it would cause less pain in the end if she got over with quickly – it was like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Shock etched its way into the teacher's face as she gestured for her friend to follow her, the two of them falling down onto the sofa while Haley studied her friend's face carefully. Several moments later tears filled her eyes as she frowned, shaking her head because she knew what Brooke was doing, she was doing the same thing she had done after high school – _running_.

"You're never going to come back, are you?" Haley asked eventually as she fought to keep her tears in, knowing that her son was running around somewhere and she did _not _want him to see her breaking down. She had no idea how long that would last though, life without the bubbly brunette had stopped being possible a long time ago.

"Of course I will," Brooke assured quickly, reaching out to grip a hold of the former tutor's hand.

"Brooke, it took you over four years to return home the last time this happened." Her friend pointed out simply, her voice holding no judgement or resentment – only pure face because the former tutor knew how hard it had been on the brunette to deal with Lucas and Peyton being together. Yet it had seemed as though it had gotten more difficult _after _they had broken up, and Haley knew why. Brooke had been afraid she had broken up with the brooder for nothing.

That was why she had opted for never telling the fashion icon how much she had hated it when Brooke had put Tree Hill in her rear-view mirror. She had needed time to put her life back together after the two blondes had broken her heart for a second time, and Haley _knew _that they were the reason behind the brunette's sudden want to leave town.

And it was for that reason alone that she would support Brooke, no matter how much she knew she was going to miss the fashion icon while she was gone. The former cheer-captain had gone through _hell _over the past year and she needed time to get her life in order before she could move on completely.

That was why she would support it – Brooke Davis was the girl that she loved.

_You're the girl that I love._

"That won't happen this time; it's only for the summer." Brooke murmured finally as she tightened the hold that she had on her friend's hand, knowing in her heart that she would never be able to walk away from her hometown for good. Tree Hill was her home and it was where she belonged.

But right now? She needed a three-month break from all of it.

Haley did not look convinced though and the fashion icon grinned at her, dimples coming into view. ""C'mon Teacher-Girl, you know that I'll be back – Sam was doing great in school here and I'm counting on you getting her into Yale or Harvard."

Regardless of how serious the moment was, laughter spilled from the former tutor's lips as she felt hope flutter into her heart. The comment was one like she had learned to expect from the fashion icon's lips and it gave her hope that everything would be okay in time. Brooke would go to New York for the summer and work on rebuilding her company, healing as much of her heart as possible before returning home so they could help her assemble the pieces she couldn't repair on her own.

"I am going to miss you _so _much, Brooke Davis." Haley said honestly as she pulled her friend in for a tight hug, struggling to remind herself of all of the reasons that the brunette needed to do this while she held her friend in her arms. There were times that she could not believe that the two of them hadn't been close friends seven years ago.

"I am going to miss you like you can't even imagine." She finished softly as she pulled away, brushing away a long tear when she saw how Brooke's own eyes had filled up with tears once again.

Brooke eyed her friend carefully, reading how true her friends were as she finally allowed several tears to slide down her cheeks. "Of course I can," she whispered hoarsely as she thought about how differently her life would have played out if she had never had her beloved Naley plus one in her life, "because I'm going to miss you just as much."

_You okay?_

Haley bobbed her head up and down as she grinned at her friend.

"But it is going to go by _so _quick. You're going to get a couple of months without all of my babbling and you'll get to spend the whole summer with Nathan and Jamie, plus we'll talk everyday so it'll be like I'm not even gone…"

She knew that her words were a lie, but they were one that both she and Haley needed to hear. Their bond wouldn't suffer over the three months that she was gone because of how strong it was, but even that knowledge was not enough to erase how much she would miss the former tutor, how much she would miss Nathan, how much she would miss her godson.

"I mean, it's only going to be three months." Brooke assured once again as tears once again returned to her eyes, wanting the former tutor to know that she was being serious. It would _not _take her over four years to return home this time. Three months would pass in no time, and then she would be home.

_I just wish I had a family like yours._

"You bet your ass it is." Nathan said simply as her head snapped up, her hazel orbs locking onto his icy blue when she saw him leaning against the doorframe. She had no idea how long he had been there but apparently he had been eavesdropping on their conversation – yet somehow she wasn't all that surprised. She would have done the same thing.

He pushed himself off the door frame and walked over to his childhood friend, gripping her hand and yanking her up from the sofa before he pulled her into his arms, circling his arms around her lean waist. This was something that she needed to do, he understood that, and though he didn't like it or support her decision – he supported _her_. And he wanted her to know that, no matter what happened he would always have her back, no matter what she and Sam would always have him and his family because they were a part of it.

"Brooke, you are a part of this family." He said firmly once he decided to voice his inner thoughts, even though they were words he wouldn't have normally voiced, pulling back from the hug so his gaze could lock onto hers once more. Determination filled his blue orbs as he continued, "I won't let you walk out of our lives that easily."

Brooke smiled at his touching words, "You wouldn't be able to get rid of me that easily."

_You do, you're Aunt Brooke._

"Momma, is Aunt Brooke staying for supper?" Jamie questioned as he popped into the room, confusion strewn across his face as he held a pile of forks in his hand, wondering if he had to add a place setting for his godmother. What confused him even more were the tears that he was in both his mother and godmother's eyes – something told him that something was wrong.

Brooke opened her mouth to respond, immediately being cut off by the athlete as he sent her a pointed look. "Of course she is, Jimmi-Jam, she just has to run home and get Sam first." His expression left no room for argument.

Jamie's face lit up at the news and nodded his head before he ran from the room to finish setting the table, Haley laughing at the interaction between her husband and friend as she left the room to finish supper, having a feeling that Nathan and Brooke needed a moment to themselves. After all, the two of them had been in each other's lives a hell of a lot longer than she had been there.

The fashion icon sent Nathan a confused look as soon as they were alone and he shrugged. "I told you that I'm not going to let you walk out of our lives," he explained as he patted her on the back before he left the room as well, "now go get your kid – I'm hungry."

**-x-**

Brooke swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she stared at the gate, watching as various people slowly made their way to the plane – the plane that was minutes away from taking off, taking her and her daughter away from their home for three months.

_God she could still remember how heartbroken Jamie had looked when she had told him last week._

But she knew that she had to get away from her hometown if she was ever going to figure out what she was supposed to do next. There was no way she would be able to move on if she stayed in Tree Hill. She had to get away for a couple of months so she could find the person that she had once been, the person she wanted to be again, and the only way she knew how to do that was to run. It was what she had done after she had graduated, opting for running to New York, and here she was several years later doing the exact same thing.

She released a deep breath and shook her head. This was different. It was like she had told the former tutor – this time it would not take her over four years to return to her home to her family. She and Sam would both be back after the summer.

Three months.

She chewed on her bottom lip as Nathan's previous words resounded in her head, reminding her of the silent threat that his voice had held. _I won't let you walk out of our lives that easily_, he had said and she knew that it was true because he wouldn't let her. The athlete would not let her walk out of their lives because they were a family.

"You should have seen Jack's face when I told him I was spending the summer in New York! Sure, he was a little pissed because we won't be able to hang out, but you could tell that he was so jealous and…" Sam trailed off as she looked over at the older brunette, confusion etched into her face, "Mom?"

Brooke felt her heart flutter at the sound of the teenager calling her mom. All of the paperwork had finally gone through and Sam was her daughter – her dream of being a mother and having her own family had finally come true.

"It's nothing," Brooke assured as she pushed all of her thoughts from her mind, her face blank as she reached down to retrieve her carry-on bag. She sent her daughter a grin before she led the teenager towards the gate, "we better get going or we'll miss our flight."

Sam offered her adoptive mother a supportive grin and shrugged, opting not to comment on the fashionista's behaviour because she understood why the fashion icon needed to do this. Brooke needed this – she had a company to restore but, more importantly, she had a heart that she needed to mend.

"Brooke!"

Brooke paused in her steps, freezing on the spot as the sound of the frantic voice hit her ears. She had almost been free but, as she turned around with her plane ticket held firmly in her hand, she saw the blonde that was running towards her. He was running as fast as possible, not even caring about his heart – about her heart – and it caused her to roll her eyes.

Did he not realise how much she needed this?

"Brooke," Lucas panted as he came to a halt in front of her, leaning over to brace himself against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Never in his life had the brooder remembered running so fast, not since he had chased the former cheer-captain out into that storm since their senior year.

_I saw you slipping away and... I guess I panicked._

"What the hell do you want, asshole"? Sam grumbled as she glared at the brooder, her lips tilting down into a frown when she saw the older brunette turn to glare on her, her eyes going wide. "What?"

Brooke increased her glare and sent her daughter a pointed look, letting the plucky teenager know that they would be discussing her attitude once they were alone. It warmed her heart to know that Sam was sticking by her side, as had all of her friends over the last few months, but that did not mean she wanted her daughter mouthing off to Lucas.

Sam furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion only for a scoff to fall from her lips when she read the silent warning. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she muttered with an eye roll as she repeated what the fashion icon had been telling her for months, "no swearing. I'm losing another dollar off my allowance, blah blah blah, bill me."

Hazel orbs rolled in exasperation before she turned her attention back to her ex-boyfriend, immediately noting that Lucas had stood to his full height and had been watching their interaction with a soft, pensive smile etched into his face.

"What do you want, Luke?" Brooke questioned, her lips tilting down into a frown as she crossed her arms over her chest, knowing that they were _definitely _going to miss their flight if she got into another fight with the brooder – the brooder that she had barely talked to over the past few months, the brooder she had barely talked to over the past _year_.

"Can I talk to you?" Lucas questioned with a pleading tone to his voice as he glanced over at the teenager, before his eyes went back to Brooke, "Alone."

Confusion bubbled up in her gut as she tried to figure out why Lucas suddenly wanted to talk to her. Her previous thoughts crossed her mind once again; the two of them had barely talked since the two of them had gotten their closure that day in the hospital, and they had talked even less since his wedding to Peyton. - what did they have to talk about?

Sam snorted in amusement, "No."

"Sure," Brooke answered simply with a nod, watching as relief washed over her ex-boyfriend. There was no doubt in her mind that the brooder was happy with the life that he was building with his family – she had seen them around town together smiling and laughing like she could remember – but that did not mean that he didn't need more closure, especially now that she was leaving for a while.

It would be their one last, final goodbye.

Her daughter frowned in disapproval, a look that she had gotten from Haley, "But…"

"Sam," Brooke sighed, "can you go wait over there, please?"

The teenager rolled her eyes, but offered no form of protest as she walked away from the former couple, knowing by now that arguing with the fashion icon was pointless. Brooke had her mind made up and no amount of protesting would change it.

"You're leaving," Lucas said simply as soon as they were alone, his eyes boring into hers.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Correction – I'm trying to."

"That is _such _a typical Brooke Davis move, you know that?" The blonde pointed out angrily as he shook his head, "Whenever something gets a little hard, you walk away – you always take the easy way out."

"As opposed to you – right?" Brooke questioned, her voice laced with sarcasm as she kinked her signature eyebrow, sending him a pointed look. Nothing that the brooder said would be able to talk her out of her decision – if her godson hadn't been able to then there was no way Lucas would be able to.

She didn't do anything for him anymore – for once she was being selfish and doing what _she _wanted.

Lucas pursed his lips together as he squinted at the woman in front of him, "I never said that."

"You didn't have to."

He released a frustrated breath and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to collect all of his thoughts, unable to grasp a single thing he had rehearsed on the way to the airport. His entire speech had been planned. He had known exactly what he had wanted to say, but suddenly words were escaping him.

Instead he opted for asking the question that had been haunting him for days.

"Why are you leaving?" Lucas asked, wincing slightly when his voice came out slightly demanding, his blue orbs locking onto her hazel ones as they searched for an answer. How could the fashion icon just walk away from her family?

She scoffed, "You're seriously asking me that?"

"But you said… I thought… when you came back," the brooder stuttered as he scrambled for words, "you said that Tree Hill was your home. You said that you were going to say," accusation filled his voice, "but… you're leaving all over again."

"No, I'm doing what's right for Sam – what's right for _me_." Brooke corrected as she thought about how much she needed to get away for a while and just be. She needed a couple of worry-free months to repair all of the damage that her heart had endured.

Lucas squinted at her.

"And even if you don't want to admit it, it's the best thing for you and Peyton right now too." She whispered when he frowned at her, hating the way that his face had scrunched together in genuine confusion – how was it that, after everything that had happened, he still did not understand? How could Lucas not grasp the fact that there was no way for them to fix this, not now?

"How is you leaving what's best for us?"

"It just is."

"Brooke," Lucas whispered in a pained voice as he shook his head, "You can't go; you have to stay."

_Don't go. I just had to say it, you __**have **__to stay._

"No. I'm doing this for me, for my _family_. For once in my damn life I'm putting me first and you are not going to talk me out of it." Brooke said firmly. "I don't care what you have to say, Luke, it won't change my mind. I can't stay here, watching you and Peyton raise Anna – not right now. Maybe I would have been able to deal with it a few months ago if things had went differently, but not now. It's too soon and I need to heal myself before that happens."

"But Brooke…"

"Lucas, I'm tired of it – of everything." She whispered in the same pained voice, "Tree Hill is my home so I will be back, but I need some time to figure out what I want."

"But Sam was doing well here," Lucas stated as he grasped for straws, grasping for something that would convince the fashion icon to stay, "Haley said her grades were great!"

"And now she is on summer holidays," the brunette shrugged, "meaning I have three months to figure everything out."

"Brooke, don't… just don't run away from your home because of this." He pleaded, hating how much pain he and his wife had put the fashionista through. He knew in his fragile heart that there was no way she would be leaving if they hadn't been so blind; if **he** hadn't been so blind.

"This has nothing to do with you, or even Peyton." Brooke said firmly with a scowl, shaking her head as she breathed out. "I need to do this, and you have to let me," Her eyes locked onto his, "go home to your family."

"But you are a part of that family."

Brooke paused at those words. His half-brother had said the exact same to her, but this time they did not make her smile while her heart beamed. She was a part of the Scott family, she was a part of her beloved Naley's family, but she was not ready to acknowledge that she was still a part of Lucas' family - of his family with Peyton. She was not ready to accept the blondes back in her heart with open arms. She didn't know if she would ever be ready.

"No, I'm not. I can't be," she said as she shook her head to emphasize her point. "Not anymore."

"Brooke…"

"No, you are going to go home and continue to build your happy life with Peyton and Anna. You finally have it, Luke – you have that family that you've always wanted. You have the life you've always wanted, and I need time to find out where I stand." She offered him a slight smile, "and this is your world now."

_Do I get to be a part of this world?_

_The biggest part._

"But it wouldn't be my world, not if it didn't have you in it." Lucas insisted softly as he took a step closer to her, begging for her to understand how much he still needed her. Even if the two of them were no longer talking, even if they were no longer friend friends, he still needed to know that she was there. He could not imagine life without the brunette around.

"This is the way it has to be, Luke." The fashion icon said simply as an unsaid 'for now' attached to the end of her sentence, leaning up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. Her ruby lips rested on his scruffy cheek longer than had been needed, but the two of them felt the need to savour their goodbye, the two of them knowing that it would be a long time before they saw each other again.

Not until she was ready.

"I'll be seeing you." Brooke grinned slightly as she began to back away from the blonde, turning her back to the blonde, only to be whirled around by Lucas so the two of them were once again staring into each other's eyes. She felt her heart pound in her chest as he pulled her into his arms.

"Don't settle for anyone remotely like me." Lucas ordered as he wrapped his arms around his ex-girlfriend tightly, kissing the side of her head lovingly when he felt her relax into his embrace. "I never deserved you, Brooke Davis."

She pulled away. "Goodbye, Lucas Scott."

-TBC-


	7. Part VII

**AN: **Hello once again all of my pretties! So a lot of people didn't think I would _actually _let Lucas and Peyton get married – and a part of me considered not doing it but this story isn't about them, this is mostly about our beloved B Davis and how everything they did affected her, it's about her healing. Them getting married was basically my way of getting them out of the way and, let's all be realistic, if this is how it had all happened on the show they still would have been married – just, _my way_, we're not ignoring everything else because they finally ended up together.

Unlike _some _people – cough, cough.

Can't you tell that I'm Mark's #1 fan? Insert sarcastic grin here.

Anyway, we have another chapter up and it didn't take me a million years to upload it – mostly because there are a couple of new stories on my computer that I've started but refuse to upload until I wrap up the ones I already have started – and then there's the fact that this story just seems to come to me naturally. I add the line from the song and then that's it, the chapter is done in a couple of hours (the editing is what takes me forever.)

And as i said, there is time jump from the last chapter to this one and there are a couple of things that might not be fully explained and _may _confuse you, but I promise it will all make sense in the next chapter – think of chapter eight an interlude that explains what happened in Tree Hill over the past two years.

Enjoy the next installment.

* * *

**A Year & Fourteen Months.**

_If a tree falls inside of a forest and nobody hears it,_

_It won't affect anybody 'cause no one will miss it._

Her brunette tresses blew into her face as her pace was emphasized by the sound of her Jimmy Choos tapping against the sidewalk, the warm summer breeze hitting her skin while the afternoon sun slowly lifted itself up into the sky. Everything felt _perfect _as she continued up the bustling street and it would have resembled one of those clichéd scenes from a movie, if only there had been birds chirping and children running up the streets with happy giggles falling from their lips.

There was no doubt in her mind that it was bound to be a good day, and she couldn't help but wonder when the _last time _she had felt this at peace had been.

Everything had fallen into place.

Her smile brightened as she pushed away the thought. There was no need to brood over the past when the future seemed brighter than ever and it had been far too long since she had been this content - and that was _not _the martini talking,

It had been far too long since she had last been to Tree Hill and, though New York was a great place to be and offered a break every now and then from the drama that seemed to haunt the small town, it was great to be back to her hometown. She hadn't seen her family since she had last been in the small town, and she had missed them terribly.

She rolled her eyes upon realising how ridiculous she was being.

It had only been a _month _since she had last made a trip to her hometown to see her family, but that was still too long for her. Over the past couple of years she had made every excuse in the book to fly down to Tree Hill, under the pretence of being there for work, but everyone had been able to see through her facade.

She hadn't made the trips because she had _needed _to; she had made them because she had _wanted _to.

Finally her intended destination came into her line of sight and she found herself speeding up her pace - as fast as her four-inch heels would allow her too, that was - and she felt a great amount of pride swell up inside her upon seeing the _Clothes over Bros _boutique.

Her lips tilted up into a large grin.

That was something else she had been doing a lot more over the past two years; smiling. And they were true, honest smiles too. Nothing about them had been fake, nor had they been filled with any sort of hidden pain or malice. Nowadays, all of her smiles were filled with pure _happiness_.

Her eyes widened comically - _oh god, now she had scared herself._

The brunette instantly pushed that thought from her mind as she finally reached the boutique's door, not even bothering to pause before she walked in, smiling as the bell chimed over her head. Yet her movements did still, her entire posture going stiff while she kinked one of her eyebrows, confusion etching its way into features once she saw her daughter lying down in the middle of the store - _on the floor_.

She pursed her lips together. It was complete déjà vu from a year ago when she had walked into the story and found her daughter in the _exact _same position, the young fashionista claiming that she was debating on what beam to hang herself from since she had been under the mistaken impression that she had screwed up royally with her boyfriend.

She sighed, "Really Brooke, this _again_?"

Her daughter didn't even bother to look over, regardless of the fact that she had surely heard the disapproving tone in the older brunette's voice, and it caused annoyance to swell up inside her. It was far too early in the morning to deal with Brooke's dramatics.

"Brooke Davis..."

Brooke rolled her hazel orbs in annoyance upon hearing the reprimanding tone in her mother's voice, even though there was a small part of her that still found the mere idea of being scolded by _Victoria _hilarious. Who would have thought that the two of them would have ever been able to build a real, _normal _mother-daughter relationship?

The fashion icon knew in her heart that she had long ago given up on the hope that Victoria would ever be the mother that she had wanted - one filled with warm advice that she could have catty fun with - and, as far as the former cheer-captain knew, her mother had never _wanted _to hold that role.

She had never wanted to be a mother, nor had she ever wanted to build a relationship with her daughter, but all of that seemed to have ended once they had gone back into business together a little over two years ago.

Hell had apparently frozen over and Victoria had realised that she should have loved her daughter more than she had loved the company, and that had been the first step in the formation of their relationship. It had started out as an understanding and then had slowly strengthened until they had a _real _relationship, one that had only been strengthened by their shared love for Brooke's adopted daughter, Sam.

Victoria huffed, "... when are you going to quit being so melodramatic?"

"I'm not contemplating suicide this time if that's what you're worried about." Brooke sighed despondently, "So you don't have to find the company a new designer yet."

Blue orbs narrowed slightly, "Again with the dramatics."

Brooke shrugged. "Who's being dramatic?"

"Brooke Penelope Davis, there cannot be a crisis this early in the day!" Her mother scolded as she placed her purse on the counter before sending Brooke a pointed look. "Aside from the obvious fact that I haven't had _nearly _enough drinks yet, my schedule is already full, and so is yours."

Her hazel orbs rolled in annoyance once again before she tilted her head so she could look up at her mother, confusion swimming in her eyes. "They're coming back today."

Victoria's teasing grin fell from her face because, even though she had only been an active part of her daughter's life for the past couple of years, she knew her daughter well enough to know who she was talking about. Peyton and Lucas, the two blondes had shattered the former cheer-captain's heart more than once, were coming back to Tree Hill for their first visit since they had fled the small town two years ago.

She could remember the day as if it had been yesterday. After spending the summer in New York as she had planned, finally figuring out her life while she reconnected with Rachel, the fashion icon had returned to her hometown with her adoptive daughter in tow... only to be met with the surprise of a lifetime when Haley had picked them up from the airport.

While the former cheer-captain had been away figuring out her life, both Peyton and Lucas had opted for leaving town, their daughter in tow, so they could sail the world with the brooder's mother and sister. Instead of staying behind and trying their damnedest to try and mend the broken bonds as much as possible, the two of them had opted for fleeing – effectively taking all of their broody angst with them.

Victoria sighed. Her daughter had brushed it off back then, claiming that it didn't matter to her because her friendships with the two blondes had ended a long time ago, but everyone had been able to see that Brooke's heart had been broken – even her mother had been able to tell, and that had been months before they had reached an understanding in their relationship.

Because, while the fashion icon had no longer been close friends with the married couple anymore, that did not change the fact that she would have much preferred to hear it from one of the blondes instead of Haley.

And now they were coming back.

"Be that as it may, there's still no need for you to be so dramatic." Victoria responded finally as she walked over to her daughter's side, slowly lowering herself to the floor as she had done a year ago as well, a small smile crossing her face as she nudged her daughter. Her heart ached, knowing that she had missed out on times like _these _all of those years when she had openly ignored her daughter.

But that was in the past – she was involved _now_.

"Considering who we're talking about," she continued, "the two of them will surely going to bring enough angst-filled hysterics with them."

Brooke chuckled at her mother's comment as she continued to stare up at the ceiling, only for a pensive frown to cross her face. They were coming back home, they were coming back to Tree Hill for god-only-knew how long and it confused the hell out of her. The last time she had seen either of them had been when the author had cornered her at the airport, trying his hardest to convince her to stay.

And that had been over two years ago.

Two years with no contact, and now they were coming back _home_.

Brooke sighed as she rested her hands on her stomach. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel about this. It's been _two years _but... am I supposed to be happy that they're going to be there today for Naley, or should I be pissed off because they're coming back? Should I be happy?"

"That's one question I _can't _answer for you, Brooke." Her mother said gently, reaching out to place one of her hands on top of her daughter's, gripping them tightly. "Only you can decide how you feel about this."

She jutted out her bottom lip into a pout as she silently debated on how she felt about their return, knowing that it would have been much easier if her mother had just given her opinion instead of leaving the fashion icon to figure out her emotions for herself. She had no idea how she should feel.

On the one hand, she was excited to see them, but on the other...

_I was afraid of getting my heart broken, like before, 'cause you've hurt me so bad._

And then there was another part of her mind telling her that it didn't matter. There was no way the three of them would miraculously be able to reform their friendship now, maybe if they hadn't fled town, but not now. There was so much about her life that they didn't know, so much about their angsty lives that she didn't know.

"But, if you _want _my opinion..." Victoria began after a couple of minutes of silence.

Brooke chuckled, knowing that her mother would offer her opinion even if she didn't want it.

"It doesn't really matter how you react to this because, if I recall correctly, the three of you never really picked up your friendship again anyway." Victoria pointed out simply, "and it's not even the reason they're here now. Like you said, they're here for Nathan and Haley, so don't make this day about _them_."

Brooke scrunched up her face in confusion. "Which means...?"

"It means that you are Brooke Davis! You are _not _going to let this stress yourself out and you're going to get your ass up off this floor, go to your friends' house and be there for them, because this is _their _day and you owe it to yourself to be happy. Just because they're back, you don't have to lose all of the progress you've made."

The fashionista pursed her lips together in thought before a dimpled grin lit up her face. "Thanks, Mom."

"You have nothing to thank me for; I told you that this is what I wanted."

_I'd rather have my daughter than a company._

Brooke nodded with a smile. "But thanks, anyway."

**-x-**

His blue orbs followed his wife as she scurried around the kitchen, checking for the millionth time that everything was in place for later that day, playing with the gold ring that rested on her pinkie finger while she tried to appear as though she was _not _freaking out.

"Don't look at me like that," his wife muttered without looking at him, "I'm not freaking out."

Loud laughter fell from his lips as he shook in amusement, only for his signature smirk to etch its way into his face when she whirled around on her heel and glared at him. He knew that he should stop laughing at her, assure her that there was nothing to worry about and be supportive, but he could not fight the laughter that was spilling from his lips.

All he wanted was to take his wife into his arms and push all of her worries away, but he was afraid of what would happen if he voiced the one thing that the two of them were really scared of. It was supposed to be a happy day and he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy, but at the same time he couldn't seem to ignore the fog of despair that was lurking around the edges of his mind, just waiting for him to let his guard down.

Voicing the elephant in the room would only make things worse, it would only increase everyone's anxiety and make him realise how much he too was internally freaking out about it, but he refused to let his mind go there. He did not even want to think about all of the ways that everything could go wrong.

"Oh, I hate you." His wife muttered as she scowled at him, moving to brush past him as she prepared to go make sure that she had all the necessities in her purse, only to be stopped when her husband grabbed a hold of her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Everything is going to be fine, Hales – today is a great day." He murmured into his ear, tightening his hold on the former tutor when he heard her scoff slightly. "You just need to relax and let everything work out on its own."

"But I have to finish cleaning up the house, and then I have to make sure that Jamie gets ready because if he's not ready on time I will probably have a mental breakdown, and then we have to…" Haley babbled on, rolling her eyes when her husband twirled her around and silenced her with a quick kiss.

"And then nothing," Nathan whispered as he pulled away slightly and leaned his forehead against hers, "you've been worrying about today all week. It's time for you to take a breather and just _relax _– the house is as clean as it ever gets and I will make sure the little menace is ready."

She grinned at him, "Have I really been freaking out _that _much?"

Nathan chuckled as he placed a loving kiss on her forehead, pulling her into his arms, grinning when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Yeah, you have, but I love you all the more for it – plus I'm surprisingly used to it."

Haley rolled her eyes and inhaled, breathing in the comforting scent that she had long ago associated with her home. It was a mixture of Downy and the cologne that her husband wore, one that was just right instead of being overpowering. It was a scent that never failed to comfort her or calm her down.

He had been her rock over the past two years. All of her friends had been there for her, but she knew that she never would have been able to make it through all of the tribulations without him – all of the scandals that his career in the NBA had dropped on their doorstep, her mother's emotional battle with cancer that Lydia had thankfully won, not to mention everything else that happened.

Life had gotten hard for the two of them but their bond had never wavered once.

Their love had remained the same.

_When life gets hard, when things change, true love remains the same._

"I love you," Haley murmured as she leaned up to kiss him on the lips, her eyes going wide suddenly as she pulled away before her husband could deepen the kiss. "Crap – oh – I forgot to buy paper plates!"

Nathan sighed in defeat as his wife pulled away from him, grabbing her car keys before she rushed from the house, an amused smile on his face. "I love you too… always and forever." He chuckled, knowing that it was pointless to tell her to _not _worry.

**-x-**

She huffed in annoyance as she glanced down at her watch once again, her dark brown orbs immediately snapping up to scan the crowd as she waited for the blonde couple to arrive. She had seen her fair share of airports over the past couple of years and was used to flights being _late_ – but waiting for a _boat _to dock was completely ridiculous.

Annoyance rushed from her lips as she groaned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared up at the bright summer sun – she so did not have the time for this today. She had to drop by Tric and make sure everything was in place for later that night since she wouldn't be there, she had to stop by Haley's house because she promised the former tutor she would drop by and help with all of the preparations, not to mention the fact that she would actually like to see her boyfriend at some point.

Suddenly a voice cut through the air and she nearly jumped upon hearing the blonde calling out her name, "Mia!"

The musician blinked as she squinted, staring out into the distance until her eyes locked onto the familiar face of Peyton – who had returned to her natural dark blonde, and who was waving at her with a large smile etched into her face.

"Peyton _Scott_," Mia laughed as the boat – although she figured calling it a house on water was more appropriate – docked and her old friend ran up to her and hugged her. Suddenly all of her previous annoyance faded as she returned the hug, for she really had missed the tortured artist since she had been away.

The artist pulled away and narrowed her gaze at the tall brunette, smirking slightly as she took in Mia's appearance, thankful that nothing had changed over the past two years. There were only so many changes that she could deal with in a short amount of time and something told her that she would be seeing a lot of changes over the next few days – a result of only keeping in contact with Naley

She shook the thoughts from her mind, her curls blowing into her face. "You look great," Peyton said honestly as she linked arms with her old friend, "how's Chase doing?"

"He's doing great – _we're _doing great, but I just wish I got to see him more." Mia admitted as she scowled at the blonde, "which I _totally _blame on you! Couldn't you have left someone _else _in charge of Redbedroom Records?"

Peyton arched her eyebrow. "In my defense, I left _both _you and Haley in charge."

Mia snorted in amusement, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, okay, like she has had the time lately! Between raising Jamie while Nathan is _gone _half the year, along with everything else that has been going on, I seriously think I'm starting to forget what Haley looks like because I barely see her – you know, kinda like how I never see _Chase_."

"Quit being so dramatic, I never would have left you in charge if I thought you couldn't handle it." Peyton pointed out seriously before she nudged the brunette, bumping her hip against Mia's as her face lit up. "Besides, I thought you _never feared the unexpected_?"

_Someone just tell me the first line of my song, please!_

_Um, it's "I never fear the unexpected."_

Mia scowled at the blonde as she crossed her arms, scowling. "You know, there is a chance that the next couple of days could prove to be hell for you since you haven't been to Tree Hill in two years and there are a lot of people who are _exactly _happy with the way you two left, so do you really wanna risk losing your only ally?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas questioned as he walked up to the two friends, glancing back at his mother who was still sitting on the yacht talking to Anna, a brief smile crossing his face before fear gripped at his heart. He glanced back at Mia with a frown, what did she mean that she was their _only _ally?

He knew that their friends and family were probably annoyed with them, and probably even a little bit pissed off that they had left town for two years, but the brooder had always thought that they had understood. They had needed some time away after everything, some time to work on their relationship and concentrate on their family – joining his mother and Andy, sailing the world for a couple of months before they had followed the couple to New Zealand.

Somehow it had just made sense to them, and they had made it work. Peyton's father had flown down to visit them several times and it had been nice having both Karen and Andy around – especially since the brooder had known that his mother wanted to be there to see her granddaughter to grow up. At the time it had seemed as though everyone had been winning. His mother got to be there for Anna, he got to watch his sister grow up, and he and Peyton had gotten away from Tree Hill and all of the drama that it seemed to hold for the two of them.

Besides, things in their hometown would have been awkward if they had stayed.

Mia looked at him in disbelief, as if he should have known the answer. "Are you kidding? After you left Hales spent a whole month ranting about how stupid the two of you were, saying that the two of you were only running away from all of your problems instead of fixing them."

Peyton and Lucas locked gazes as they looked down in shame. They both knew that running away had been the reason they had left – like the fashion icon they had decided to leave their hometown so they could strengthen their bond and learn to trust each other again. But they hadn't made the same efforts to keep in contact with all of their friends while they were gone, not like Brooke had, and it had taken them over two years to dock in Tree Hill again.

Brooke had strayed true to her word – she had been gone three months to the _day_.

"Look, I'm not here to judge the decisions you made or anything and I am really happy to see you both, but I'm trying to prepare you for what you're gonna be up against. Everyone is happy to see you, but that doesn't mean they're not hurt. There have been times over the past two years it would have been nice to have you around," Mia shrugged simply before she walked over to the boat to help Andy with the bags while Karen helped her granddaughter off the boat – all the while scolding Lily for getting too close to the edge.

The knot in Peyton's stomach tightened as she processed all of the musician's words – wondering what difficult times she had been talking about. Haley had wrote them in a letter telling them all about her mother's fight with cancer, about how Nathan had been afraid that he would have to quit basketball because of his back, the whole scandal where some woman had claimed to be pregnant with Nathan's child.

That was not to mention whatever drama had occurred in the life of the fashion icon – the one person that Haley had never mentioned in her letters, out of respect for both the brunette and the two blondes. No one wanted to bring up the reason that they had fled town and, when the former tutor _had _mentioned Brooke, all she had said was that she was happy.

But that didn't change the fact that there had been times when they had needed them – Peyton and Lucas, their _family_.

_Six billion people in the world; six billion souls, and sometimes, all you need is one._

"Need some help?" Andy asked the musician as they reached her car, his thick accent shining through as he grinned at Mia, causing her to blink in a daze before she handed him the bags that she had helped him carry up to the car – sadly they had to rearrange her trunk because of the guitars that filled it.

She breathed out and allowed for a genuine smile to light up her face when she saw her guitars – both of them acting as a symbol of how things would go back to normal in a couple of days. As much as she had missed them, the angsty couple would leave again and she would go back to running the record company and recording music, spending all of her free time making-out with Chase, except for Sunday afternoons.

Every Sunday afternoon she and Haley went down to the boardwalk and played music together – just for the fun of it.

"Stop worrying, everything will be fine." She heard the tortured artist whisper to her husband and the musician almost scoffed, knowing that the two of them had no idea how much had changed, but when it looked as though Lucas believed her…

Mia rolled her eyes.

**-x-**

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie beamed as he took off running towards his godmother, opting for hugging her tightly around the waist since she could no longer lift him up as easily as she had been able to a couple of years ago – though there were days that the fashion icon still tried.

Brooke felt her dimples poke out in her cheeks as she returned the hug, ruffling his hair as he clung to her. "Hey there, buddy!" She beamed as her godson tilted his head back so he could grin at her, "Where are those crazy parents of yours?"

Jamie pursed his lips together in thought as he led the fashionista over to the edge of the pool, sitting down beside her before he answered her question. "Dad is in the house and Momma had to run to the store real quick because she _thinks _that she forgot to pick up paper plates for later – but we found them two minutes after she left 'cause they were on the counter, but she didn't have her phone with her so she don't know."

She chuckled at the mental image of the former tutor running around making sure every little thing was in place, all the while running around like a chicken that had just had its head chopped off. "In other words, her neurotic tendencies have been taking over since she woke up at the butt crack of dawn."

"Basically."

"All teasing of Momma Scott should _probably _be kept to a minimum today though, bud – she's been freaking about today all week." She pointed out as she dipped her feet into the water, grinning when Jamie copied her actions and began swirling his toes around in the water. "Today's a big day."

"Yeah," Jamie sighed softly as he stared at the water.

Brooke narrowed her eyes, kinking her eyebrow as she nudged his side. "What about you, Jamie, are you excited for your big day?"

He squinted up at her in confusion, "what do you mean?"

"You're a big brother now. It's your baby sister's christening today, bud!"

"Yeah, and then you're going to become _her _godmother too."

Understanding etched into her face as she draped her arm over his shoulder, pulling him into his side before she kissed her forehead. "You know, you're so smart that I sometimes forget that you're only eight – but I need you to listen to me anyway, okay? There is _no way _that our relationship is going to change. I love you _and _I love baby Lydia, but I don't love one more than the other… she _cannot _replace you."

_You know, nobody's ever gonna replace you, right?_

Jamie nodded his head. "Yeah, I know."

Brooke grinned as she ruffled his hair once again, ignoring the cries of protest that fell from his lips almost immediately. "Just think of this as my way of expanding my army of little Scotts that I can mould to my liking. We are still going to have our weekly 'Braime day of fun,' but just think, in a couple of years you and I will be able to take Lydia out and get her hyped up on ice cream without telling your mom – kinda like how I used to give _you _an extra scoop of ice cream whenever you complimented how awesome I am."

Jaime beamed.

"You know, I don't really appreciate you turning my kids against me by bribing them with an extra scoop of ice cream." Nathan called out as he walked out of the house, holding his three-month-old daughter in his arms as he scowled at the fashionista who was hell bent on corrupting his children.

Brooke shrugged. "You're the one who decided to make _me _their godmother, Nate – that's basically giving me permission to turn them into my own little minions. You just wait 'til baby Lydia grows up! You're holding the Ravens' future cheer-captain in your arms right now."

Pure horror etched its way into Nathan's face.

He instantly pushed the thought away though as he focused his blue orbs on his son, a pointed expression on his face. "Hey Jamie, can you do me a favour? Go call Aunt Quinn and make sure she has her camera with her, otherwise run up to her room and get it."

Jamie huffed, "you just want to talk about something I _can't _know about."

Nathan raised his eyebrows in exasperation, emphasizing his point, and Jamie merely nodded before he pulled his feet out of the pool and ran into the house. His father had his protective-brother expression strewn across his face so that meant that he wanted to have a word with his Aunt Brooke, and the young Scott knew better than to get in the middle of one of _those _conversations.

"Who's that Lydia, is that your crazy aunt? One of them anyway," Nathan amended as he walked over to his friend, his signature smirk etched into his face as he handed his daughter to the expectant brunette – his smirk turning into a genuine grin when he saw how natural she was with the baby. "When are you going to get around to having one of those anyway?"

"As soon as I'm done corrupting this one," Brooke winked as the raven-haired athlete sat down beside her, throwing him a dimpled grin before she went back to blowing kissing on Lydia's stomach. Though she was only three months old, Lydia was already a perfect combination of both of her parents. She had her mother's brown eyes, while the few strands on top of her head were the same raven colour that Nathan had.

"So, aside from the freak-outs that Teacher-Mom has been having, you two must be pretty excited huh?" She asked a couple of minutes later, enjoying the comfortable silence as she sat with her friend while she held the baby in her arms – unable to fight her grin. Though she had Sam, she couldn't wait for the day that she had her own baby to coo over.

"Yeah," Nathan grinned before he looked at the fashion icon with a calculated gaze, "what about you? Are you excited?"

She snorted in amusement, "_duh_! You and Hales gave me another _adorable _god-child to spoil!"

He nodded his head slowly, "so you _really _are excited?"

Brooke rolled her eyes upwards. "_Yes_ – I thought I already went over this with your wife? I want my own baby, we all know that, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go all Crazy Nanny Carrie on you and steal yours, and it doesn't mean that I'm going to breakdown into tears at the sight of a onesie. My dream will come true for me too, but it just came true for you two first." She eyed him carefully, a frown tugging at her lips. "Why do you keep asking me if I'm okay, anyway?"

"Because we never talked about how you feel about Luke and Peyton coming back to town." Nathan dead-panned, rolling his eyes as he focussed on the facial expression that had crossed the brunette's face. Somehow it didn't seem as sad as he had thought it would be, which he wasn't sure was a good thing – especially is Brooke _was _sad about it, all the while opting to hide it so she wouldn't ruin her friends' happiness. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.

"Nate! I already had this conversation with Bitchtoria," the fashion icon whined as she lifted her goddaughter into the air, blowing kisses on her belly once again.

"Well, now you're having it with me – so out with it, Davis." Nathan ordered as he nudged his friend in the side, already knowing how he felt about his the blonde couple returning. He could not deny that there was a part of him that would be happy to see them again, because he had truly missed having his brother and Peyton around, but there was another part of him that pissed at them. Pissed that the two of them had fled their hometown without so much as a warning, pissed that it had taken them over two _years _to come back to visit.

"Honestly, I'm torn. There is this small part of me that just wants to be happy that they're coming back and that they're going to be here for you and Hales," she answered as she kept her eyes on Lydia's face, "but then there is this other part of me that just thinks it's going to be _awkward_. I mean, they left without saying 'goodbye,' Nate."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." The athlete admitted as he pulled his feet out of the pool, standing up before he grinned down at the brunette that was holding his daughter. "You know that we're all here for you though, right? No matter what."

_Just in case, we're still here too._

_Thanks, Nate._

Brooke grinned. "Yeah, I know – thanks, Nate." She said honestly as she handed Lydia back to her father before she climbed to her feet, pulling the father of two in for a one-armed hug as her hazel orbs watered up. "It means a lot to know that you're there."

His lips tilted up into a smile.

"You know, I kind of love you, Nathan Scott." Brooke admitted as she pulled away from him, punching him in the shoulder lightly as the two of them started heading towards the house – genuine smiles etched into both of their faces.

"I kinda love you too, Brooke Davis." Nathan responded with his lips twisting into the famous Scott smirk, walking over to put his daughter in her highchair while the fashion icon settled onto one of the stools that rested at the counter.

She kinked an eyebrow, "Even though I'm trying to turn your children against you?"

He scowled playfully, "don't push it."

"Dad, Aunt Quinn says that she has her camera with her." Jamie panted as he ran into the room, the cordless phone still in his grasp as he ran over to sit on the stool beside his godmother. "And she said that she would meet us at the church because she's busy _getting _busy with her _boyfriend_." He commented easily, singing the last word out mockingly as he rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm," Brooke mused as she rested her chin against her closed fist, a dreamy expression etched onto her face. "It seems as though my army of minions keeps getting bigger and bigger by the month – Sam, Jamie, Lydia, plus the latest member of the James clan if Quinn keeps it up."

Nathan released a long breath as he scowled over at the brunette, his frustration shining through at the mere thought of Quinn and her new boyfriend. He knew that he should be supportive – everyone told him as such, anyway – but that didn't mean that it wasn't _weird_.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Oh let it go, Hotshot – they're dating now and there is _nothing _you can do about it."

**-x-**

Nothing surrounded him but silence as his blue orbs locked onto the sight in front of him, an ache forming in his heart when he saw Nathan and Haley stand at the front of his church holding their daughter while her godparents stood beside them.

Almost instantly his eyes locked on the fashion icon. Her signature dimpled grin was strewn over her pretty features and the same look of happiness that had engraved itself into her face during Jamie's christening was present once again as she became godmother for the second time – only a lot had happened since that happy memory so long ago.

Lucas could still remember how he had been unable to keep the smile off of his face over eight years ago when he had stood beside the brunette, the two of them going through the same exact ceremony, only to be given one of the most important roles he had ever been given in his life – being someone's godfather.

_You know, it's been said that we just don't recognize the significant moments of our lives while they're happening._

"Hey, are you okay?" Peyton questioned softly as she glanced at him, her lips pulled down into a frown as she looked at her husband in confusion, wondering what had resulted in his brooding expression.

All of her words fell on deaf ears though as he continued to stare straight ahead at the scene playing before him. He had no idea why, but he had always assumed that he would be the godfather to Nathan and Haley's second child, because it had never been questioned that their family would grow eventually.

But that had been before he had started taking his responsibilities as an uncle, his responsibilities as a godfather, for granted. For some reason that thought had never crossed his mind when he had fled town with his own family unit two years ago.

He had taken it all for granted – the people he'd had in his life and the position that he had held in theirs.

_We grow complacent with ideas, or things, or people, and we take them for granted._

His eyes narrowed when he watched baby Lydia's godfather leaned over to whisper something in the fashion icon's ear, something that had laughter erupting from her ruby lips before the couple she had dubbed Naley scowled at the pair in mock annoyance.

"Opps, sorry man – that one was totally on me." Clay Evans chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender before he gestured for them to continue with the ceremony.

Lucas released a slow breath as he watched his little brother roll his eyes in amusement before he shared a grin with his best friend, the guy that he had chosen and _trusted _enough to take care of his daughter if anything were ever to happen to him and Haley.

Clay Evans – the raven-haired athlete's agent, his best friend, and the guy who had replaced Nathan's older brother.

_And it's usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you that you realize how wrong you've been…_

He knew that he had no right to be upset about the scene that was taking place before his very eyes, but his mind had shut down when the former tutor had told him who would be her daughter's godfather. In his heart he knew it wouldn't have hurt as much if it had been Skills or one of the other guys, someone who he knew, but hearing that someone who hadn't been a part of their lives two years ago would be Lydia's godfather – the guy who had basically replaced him…

… _that you realize how much you really need it, how much you love it._

…Lucas realised how wrong he had bee to run away.

**-x-**

"You got her, Luke?" Peyton questioned softly as she watched her husband struggle with their daughter's seatbelt while the two year old babbled on, not caring if anyone was listening to her.

"Yeah, I got her." Lucas answered shortly.

She blinked in surprise at the tone but decided not to comment on it. She had seen the expression on Lucas' face during the whole ceremony and she had known what he was thinking. A couple of years ago it would have been him and the fashion icon that Nathan and Haley would have chosen as the godparents to their child – actually they had, but while their bond with Brooke had stayed strong enough for her to be the godmother of their second child, Nathan's new best friend, Clay, had been given the title of godfather to Lydia Brooke Scott.

It was almost as if Clay had replaced the brooder.

"Well, if it isn't the broodiest couple that I know." Julian mused with his signature illegal grin lighting up his face as he leaned against his truck, the one that just so happened to be the vehicle parked next to them – his grin only widening when his ex-girlfriend looked at him in shock while Lucas scowled at him.

Apparently no one had bothered to tell the tortured blondes that he would be present, no one had bothered to inform them that he was officially a part of the crazy and sometimes dysfunctional Tree Hill family.

Lucas narrowed his blue orbs, "what are _you _doing here?"

If it was even possible, Julian felt his grin widen a little more. "Ah, Luke – you missed me too?" He teased, enjoying the way that the brooder pursed his lips together into a thin line while he squared his shoulders. There was just something that was amusing about teasing the tortured athlete, some sort of thrill that the producer got whenever he managed to get a reaction out of Lucas.

"And, not that it is _really _any of your business," he continued with a shrug of his shoulders, "but I'm here with my girl."

Peyton blinked in surprise. She wasn't stupid and she knew that it was only a matter of time before her ex-boyfriend found someone else to live his life with, but what _did _surprise her was the fact that his relationship had earned him an invitation to the christening of Nathan and Haley's daughter.

Did it mean that he was with…?

"Julian!" Nathan called out as he made his way across the parking lot, his son eagerly running beside him to keep up with his father's long legs, while a look of pure annoyance engraved its way into the athlete's face – all of which caused the tortured artist to lose her train of thought before she could finish it. She would ask that question later.

"Hey, Big J!" Jamie greeted as the father-son duo reached the producer, reaching out to bump his fist with Julian while a large smile crossed his face, his new braces coming into view as he grinned up at the man who had taught him how to perfect his swing at baseball. There was no way he loved the sport more than basketball, but that sport was something he shared with his father and the guys from the river court, baseball was something for him and Julian to do together.

_Thanks, man – hey, that was my first ever 'fist bump.'_

_Don't overthink it._

"Hey back, Little J." Julian greeted as he lifted the young Scott up so he could sit on the hood of his truck, grinning madly at the little boy as he gave him his full attention. "So I saw you up there rocking the whole big brother role earlier," he said simply as he nudged Jamie lightly, "not too bad for a kid who didn't want a sibling."

Nathan rolled his eyes upward as he released a groan, remembering the several long chats that he and his wife had had with Jamie before the eight year old had warmed up to the idea of having a younger sibling. He sent the producer a pointed glare, "Julian, please don't encourage him."

Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the interaction between his little brother and the man that he had dubbed _dick _a couple of years ago – the same man that he had repeatedly told to stay away from his family, he same man who was now standing before him acting as if he were a part of the family. He had no idea how he felt about that. When he had fled town with Peyton and their daughter he had never expected his brother to fill the empty void with a new best friend – and he sure as hell hadn't expected _Julian Baker _to be close to _his _godson.

"Sorry, Nate," Julian chuckled lightly before he looked at the athlete seriously, a frown pulling his lips downward. "Was there something you needed?"

Nathan shook his head, "not me." He said simply as he raised his eyebrows for emphasis, ignoring the looks of confusion that the blonde couple were sending his way, not saying anything more until he saw that Julian didn't get it either. "Apparently your girl is starting to drive Hales nuts, which really isn't anything new, but if you could go in there and..."

"…Go in there and use my impeccable charm and illegal grin to lure her away from your wife, effectively giving Momma-Scott some peace?" Julian finished easily while his grin etched into his face at the mention of _his _girl – damn he loved it when people called her that. It had taken the two of them a long time to get to where they were, but he was more than okay with that.

He had enjoyed all of the carefully planned moves and wooing that he'd had to endure in order to win her over.

"No problem, man." He assured as he pushed himself away from his truck and turned around, holding out his fist to Jamie once more, grinning widely. "Pump it, Little J."

Lucas felt his heart ache as he watched his godson roll his eyes at the producer before bumping fists with him, his toothy grin strewn over his features the entire time. How had the two of them grown so close over two years, while the brooder's relationship with Jamie had dwindled?

_Julian had been there_, his mind seemed to taunt him.

Julian then began to walk away, only to pause after several steps to turn and look back at the two blondes, his brown orbs scanning over their faces as he waited for the old feelings to bubble up to the surface. The feelings of anger and hurt that he had always felt when he saw them together, only for a genuine smile to cross his face when he felt none of it. He felt no lingering feelings for the artist and all of the resentment he had felt for Lucas had faded – he had figured that out a long time ago, but the reassurance that he was truly over it made him feel _relaxed _and at peace.

He had moved on.

"See you later, Leyton." He said simply after a couple moments of silence, wincing when he heard Nathan release an aggravated groan.

"Damn it, Julian!" Nathan complained, shaking his head at the use of the couple name, knowing where – or rather, _who_ – the producer had picked up that habit from. It was as if the fashion icon was out to get him, corrupting one person at a time.

Julian laughed as he walked away, calling out to his friend over his shoulders, "sorry – it's Brooke!"

Jamie pursed his lips together, waiting a beat, and then looked over at his father expectantly. "You owe me a dollar, Dad."

Nathan rolled his eyes, "stupid no-swearing policy."

"That's another dollar."

"What did I say _that _time, you little menace?"

"Stupid," Jamie grinned happily.

Nathan pursed his lips together, narrowing his blue orbs, "that's not a bad word."

His son attempted to kink his eyebrow in the same manner that he had seen his godmother do countless times, the over-confident Scott attitude he possessed shining through, "but Momma says it's not a _nice _word."

Nathan opened his mouth to respond, only to sigh and defeat and take his wallet out of his pocket.

**-x-**

Julian's mouth fell open as he looked at the athlete in disbelief, "Nate – _c'mon!_"

Brooke felt her lips lift up into a dimpled grin as she glanced over at the producer, her signature eyebrow arching when she saw the pout that was strewn over his face – it was more than evident in that moment he had spent _way _too much time with her, especially if he was resorting to using _her _pout without even realising it. Yet she found that she couldn't really blame him, not with the way that Nathan was purposely torturing him.

Nathan shook his head, "I pick Sam."

His son shouted immediately after him, "Aunt Quinn!"

"Mille, you ever play football before?"

She shook her head, "not a day in my life."

"Then I pick Millie."

Julian's frown deepened. "Nate, I thought we were bros – _homies_!"

Nathan shrugged, "hoes over bros."

"And you are _so _not a pop-culture buff, Julian – no one's had _'homies' _since 1989." The redhead grinned as she patted him the side of his cheek mockingly, squealing when he reached over to pinch her hip before she ran over to stand beside Quinn.

Raspy laughter fell from Brooke's lips at the sight – thanking whatever deity that existed for the millionth time over the past two years that she and Rachel had been able to patch up their relationship. There had been a time when she had doubted that she would ever see her friend again, but she had been proven wrong and their relationship was stronger than ever.

_Thanks for being my friend, you cheating whore._

_Thanks for being my friend, you crazy bitch._

Brooke chewed on her bottom lip as she turned her head; her hazel orbs drifting over to where the blonde couple that were standing on the back deck with Haley. They had already asked if they wanted to join in their game of football – winners got bragging rights while the losers had to clean up the mountain of dishes that Haley had made earlier that day – but they had all declined. Haley claimed that it was because she had _made _the mess so she wasn't cleaning it up anyway, plus someone had to be paying attention to the baby monitor incase her daughter started crying, whereas the blondes had just shook their heads and offered a slight smile.

Part of her assumed that it had to do with the fact that they felt more than a little out of the loop, after all there had been more than a few new additions to their group while they had been away. Rachel had returned, Julian was there and acting as though he were family which _had _to be confusing to the couple, and then there was Quinn and Nathan's agent, Clay.

There was a small part of her mind that told her that she was to blame for that, but she knew that it was wrong.

Lucas and Peyton had made their own decisions, just like she had, and it had been _them _that had decided to leave town.

"Brooke!" Her mother called out from where she was sitting next to Haley's mother, a pointed expression on her face as her daughter caught her gaze – one which immediately caused Brooke to nod her head before she walked over to join the rest of her team. It had only felt like mere seconds to her, but apparently the rest of the teams had been picked while she had been staring off into space.

Brooke braced her hands against her legs as she prepared to plough her way through whoever she needed to, highly aware of the three Scotts that were watching her from the deck, raspy laughter falling from her lips as she sized up the two teams. It was Jamie, Skills, Quinn, Rachel, Mouth, Deb and herself vs. Clay, Nathan, Sam, Millie, Mia, Chase and Julian.

Seeing the producer on Nathan's team surprised her, causing her to kink her eyebrow, knowing that she would have to ask her daughter how _that _had happened.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is _completely _unfair? They got _both _Clay and Nathan!" Rachel hissed under her breath while Jamie listed out all of the rules, her lips pulled down into a frown as she looked from Quinn to the fashionista, the two of them nodding in agreement. There was a chance that they could win if the other team only had Nathan, who would surely be busy going after his son, but there was no way that Clay was going to let them get a touchdown.

Brooke frowned as she processed the redhead's words, her hazel eyes narrowing as she tried to think of some plan of attack that would give them a fighting chance. Some would say that the clichéd plan of _divide and conquer _would be the way to go but, as her eyes bounced from Clay and Nathan and then over to Chase and Julian, a mischievous grin over took her face.

"Yeah, but we have something that they _don't_." She declared in a hushed tone, her eyes sparkling when she saw the frown that Sam was sending her – the teenager _knew _that she was up to something and it made pride swell up inside her. She had taught her daughter _well_.

_People get lost when they think of happiness as a destination. We're always thinking that someday we'll be happy._

_We will get that car or that job or that person in our lives that will fix everything._

"Somehow I don't think our stylish yet affordable shoes will get us outta this one, Brooke." Quinn scoffed as she gave the brunette her own adaptation of the famous James stare, a look that the former tutor had always sent the fashion icon's way when her mind had concocted a plan that was both likely to fail and insane.

Her dimpled poked out in her cheeks as she glanced down at the ballerina flats that she was wearing. "They _are _stylish, but they're not really all that affordable – they cost me a hell of a lot more than my pride is willing to admit." Brooke grinned, glancing over at her two friends so they could see the mirth that her hazel orbs held. "But actually, that wasn't what I was talking about."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Well don't hold out on us now, Penny D, the suspense is killing our buzz. What so-called secret weapon have you discovered that will even our odds against the Brawn and the Brain_less_?"

"Cleavage," Brooke shrugged shamelessly as she stood up and discreetly adjusted her outfit so that her shirt was pulled down a little lower, not enough to flash the poor unsuspecting children that were running around the house, but it was definitely enough to gain the attention of the men that were on the opposite team. Hopefully it would be enough to distract them.

Rachel and Quinn immediately straightened their own postures and pulled down their own shirts, not bothering to be as discreet as the fashionista had been, smiles instantly etching into their faces as their spirits were lifted. Without a doubt it was cheating in the sneakiest way possible, but they wanted to win.

"And those are the rules, got it? Get it? Good, then everyone get into position." Jamie nodded as he carried the football in his hands, walking over to stand in front of Skills without really caring if everyone had been listening to his spiel about the rules.

Nathan stared straight in front of him, the Scott smirk strewn over his features as he eyed his son playfully, "Ready to lose, Jimmi-Jam?"

His son snorted, "Are _you_?"

"Let's get da party started up in here! Ready, set… hike!" Skills called out in excitement, grinning as the ball landed in his hands while the rest of the two teams scattered around the yard. He pursed his lips together as he debated on whether or not he should just run for it or toss it to a team member, only for his smile to widen when he saw his boy open.

"Uncle Skills!" Jamie called out and immediately taking off running when the ball landed in his hands effortlessly, laughter falling from his lips when he saw that he had a clear path to the touchdown line.

"Not you fast, you little menace!" Nathan warned playfully as he grabbed his son from behind and lifted him up, holding him under his arm as he whirled the two of them around and started heading towards the touchdown line – fully intending on the first point being theirs.

Brooke laughed at the sight in front of her as her beloved godson started whining, pouting up at his father to play fairly, barely registering what was happening when he called out "Aunt Brooke!" and threw the football into her hands.

Her hazel orbs blinked down at the brown ball she held in her hands before she drove foreword, ploughing her way through both Chase and Sam as they tried to grab her. Raspy laughter fell from her lips for the hundredth time that day as she held the ball firmly in her hands and ran for the touchdown line, grinning widely when she was a mere five feet from her intended destination. Maybe they had better odds than they had originally thought.

_But happiness is a mood, and it's a condition – not a destination._

_It's like being tired or hungry. It's not permanent._

All of her thoughts were wiped from her mind when someone instantly grabbed a hold of her, hoping to thwart her attempts at scoring the same way Nathan had stopped his son.

"No, put me down!" Brooke ordered as he picked her up, wiggling in his arms as she struggled against his hold, a squeal of laughter falling from her ruby lips as the two of them toppled over and fell into the grass. Instantly the air flew from her lung and she gasped in surprise when she glanced over at the body that had landed right beside her, scowling in the direction of Clay Evans.

"You are _so _gonna pay for that one."

Clay turned his head so he could face her, his million-dollar grin in place as he shrugged. "Really, and what sort of punishment did you have in mind, Dimples?" His blue orbs lit up in amusement as he began to flirt shamelessly with her, the two of them ignoring the game continuing on without them. "Are you going to _spank _me?"

"Oh my god, I did it!" Millie screamed suddenly, jumping up and down on the spot as she glanced down at the ball in her hands before she jumped into Mouth's arms and placed a smacking kiss on his lips – one that had seemed to catch the sports anchor by surprise.

"Millie, he's not even on our team! Stop fraternizing with the enemy," Nathan called out sternly even though there was a grin etched into his face, one that fell from his face when he saw that his agent was still lid down on the grass. "Clay, get your ass up and back in the game! Julian sucks!"

"Hey," Julian called out in protest as he whirled around to give the athlete a surprised look, his expression completely heartbreaking.

"Can we get back to the _game _now?" Jamie asked impatiently as he placed his hands on his hips, annoyance strewn over his face as he sent them all a look that he had surely learned from his mother. Sometimes it was hard being the most mature one, especially when you were only eight.

"Sure thing, J Scott – right after I throw you in the pool," Sam grinned as she began chasing after Jamie, ignoring his pleads as she chased him all over the yard. Suddenly their game of football was the last thing on all of their minds as they watched as Sam struggled to catch up with the young Scott – knowing in their hearts that _this _was what true happiness felt like.

_It comes and goes and that's okay._

_And I feel like if people thought of it that way, they'd find happiness more often._

Brooke grinned as Julian walked over to her, gripping her hand tightly as he pulled her to her feet, grinning the entire time as he apologized for how he'd had no choice other than to kick her ass – the two of them laughing as they walked away, completely ignoring Clay's requests for help up as they whirled around to look at him.

"Sorry, man. I would, but there's no fraternizing with the enemy – you can thank Nate for that one." Julian shrugged.

Brooke's eyes sparkled as her hazel orbs locked onto Clay's blue ones, "consider this your punishment. Have fun getting up."

"Dimples, where's the love?" Clay whined.

**-x-**

"Dimples," she heard Clay whine, "Where's the love?"

Haley blinked in confusion as she walked out of the house, her daughter held firmly in her arms as she took in the chaos that was taking place her backyard. Mouth and Millie, as well as Mia and Chase, were making out as though they were the only ones in the vicinity, Sam had Jamie held in a headlock while she dragged him around despite his protests, Deb had given up on the chaos and was lounging beside Lydia and Karen and Victoria, Quinn and Rachel were gossiping amongst themselves, Nathan and Skills were talking about what she figured to be basketball, and Clay was lid on his back pouting while Julian and Brooke walked away from him, teasing the agent the entire time.

"Wow," she breathed out as she walked up to stand beside Peyton and Lucas, "I leave for one second and all hell breaks loose."

_I should really start a crisis hotline for my friends._

_It's called your phone number._

"You say that like it's a surprise." Peyton commented as cracked a small grin as she swayed her hip so she could nudge her sister-in-law, her eyes resting on the little girl that kept staring up at her mother with something that the tortured artist could only describe as awe – not that she could blame baby Lydia. She had one hell of a mom.

"Except it really isn't, but that's okay – I've already accepted that I run a crisis hotline for my friends." Haley grinned, bouncing her daughter on her hip as she sent the two blondes a pointed look. "So, how long are you two going to be in town?"

She watched as the artist frowned slightly, turning her attention to Lucas as the two of them shared a conversation without speaking once. It seemed as though the bond that the two had always shared had grown stronger while they had been away, which had been the whole point in them fleeing their hometown in the first place, and it warmed her heart slightly. She was still pissed as hell that the two had felt as though they had to run away in order to heal, rather than fix everything from home – but the former tutor knew she couldn't blame them without holding the same blame towards Brooke.

The fashion icon had done the same thing.

It just hadn't taken Brooke over two years to return home.

"Not really sure." Lucas answered finally as he looked at his best friend with a tight smile, knowing before he continued speaking that the former tutor wasn't going to be happy with their answer, "Maybe a couple of days."

Just as he expected anger flashed in her brown orbs as she stopped bouncing the baby on her hip, her posture straightening as she shook her head in disappointment. Everything about her stance screamed how much she didn't approve and it made his fragile heart ache, there had been a time when his best friend had supported him no matter what.

_Just follow your heart._

"Really, Lucas?" Haley demanded loudly, pausing when she gained the attention of several of their friends and her daughter whimpered in her arms, her voice dropping into a hiss as she continued. "You up and leave town, not bothering to give _anyone _a heads up, only to return two years later and you're only planning on staying a couple of days – are you kidding me right now, Luke?" Her eyes darkened, disbelief strewn over her features.

"Hales…"

"Don't you _'Hales' _me! You were here to support me – to support your _family _– today and I thank you so much for that, but the least you could do is actually stay in town long enough to be there for her on one of the biggest days of her life." Haley continued to hiss, ignoring how her husband had his gaze trained on her. "I mean, she did it for you even after everything that happened, so I don't think that the two of you sacrificing a week of your time is too much to ask when you look at everything she's sacrificed for you…"

_You always sacrifice to help everybody else. That's why we love you._

Lucas blinked in confusion, his lips tilting downward while his eyebrows furrowed together in the middle of his forehead – his signature broody expression etching itself into his face as the question tumbled from his lips. "Haley, what are you talking about?"

Haley rolled her eyes upward at the clueless act that the couple were playing, her gaze settling back on their faces as she huffed out her response – knowing in her heart that they knew the answer already, "Brooke's wedding."

The two blondes blinked in surprise before they looked each other, once again sharing one of their couple gazes, studying the other's expression before they looked back at the former tutor with confusion strewn across their faces. But Haley had known them a long time and she could tell that their confusion was genuine – they didn't know, and it made her heart sink in her chest.

All of the anger immediately faded from her expression, her sympathy sinking in as she voiced the truth even though neither of them really needed her to. "You… you didn't know, did you?" Haley questioned as her gaze drifted out to the laughing fashion icon.

"No," Peyton murmured as she followed Haley's gaze out into the yard, her eyes locking onto her childhood best friend as she continued to laugh at something that the redhead said before she stuck her tongue out at Julian when he offered his own two-cent's worth. And then her eyes locked onto it as the sun hit it – the glimmer of a diamond ring on Brooke's left hand.

She cleared her throat, "When… when is she getting married?"

"Next week," Haley whispered as she removed her gaze from the brunette, refocusing all of her attention on the blonde couple once again as she studied their reactions to the news. Neither of them seemed particularly hurt that Brooke was getting married; everyone had known a long time ago that it was only a matter of time before the fashion icon opened her heart up to someone and formed her own family, but they did seem hurt that Brooke hadn't been the one to tell them.

She was barely able to keep from scoffing – maybe now they would know how Brooke felt when she returned home, only to find the two blondes missing.

"You should talk to her," she said suddenly, "she probably never told you because she didn't know if you would be here – she was hurt when she came home from New York to find out that you left without even telling her. Just… whatever you do, don't hurt her again. She's been disappointed enough." Once again her eyes were narrowed a silent threat in her words.

"Yeah," Peyton nodded sadly, "I know."

"Samantha Davis, don't you freaking dare or I swear I will…!" Brooke began, only for her threat to be drowned out by the sound of someone splashing into the pool, the sound being followed by the loud voices of her daughter and godson.

Haley frowned as she looked over at the pool, her eyes bulging out of her eyes when she saw Samantha slowly swimming to the edge of the pool with Jamie on her back – a large grin strewn over his face despite the squeal of surprise that had escaped his lips when he first hit the water. The sight made the mother of two frown, shaking her head in exasperation.

"She is _so _Brooke's daughter," she muttered.

**-x-**

Brooke felt a smile tug at her lips as she watched her daughter teach Jamie how to play poker, the two of them sitting out in the grass while the dried off, opting for using pretzels and Jolly Ranchers since Nathan hadn't let them use the poker chips that he and the other guys used whenever they had _guys night in_.

"Dude, you are _totally _cheating!" Sam cried out suddenly as Jamie threw down his winning hand, sliding the pretzels towards him – throwing one his mouth and chewing it while the famous Scott smirk crossed his face. He had his mother's smarts, but there was no denying that he was his father's son.

"_Dude_, I'm totally not." Jamie said smugly.

"Then you and I are _so _going to Vegas when you get your first fake ID, J Scott."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow at that comment, shaking her head in amusement despite the fact that she would be ordering her daughter to stay away from sin city once the two of them were alone – especially if she was serious about her claim. Something told her that Haley would have a _fit_.

"First fake ID, huh? That sounds like something you could help him with," a voice teased her from behind.

_You never worked so hard for anything in your life, except your fake ID!_

Brooke turned her head, offering a small smile to the blonde as she walked up beside her, the two of them leaning against the railing as their eyes settled on the duo who were laughing amongst themselves, dealing the cards out once again so the young Scott could prove that it hadn't been a fluke.

"Where's Anna?" The brunette questioned after a couple of minutes of silence, never taking her eyes off of her daughter and godson as she waited for the response, praying that the two of them could get at least one conversation going without it being awkward.

"With Karen – she wanted to catch up with Deb so the two of them are in the kitchen gossiping, probably spoiling Anna beyond all belief." Peyton shrugged, shaking her head in amusement, her expression showing that she didn't really mind at all.

Brooke nodded slowly.

"So, um, I hear a congratulations is in order – but honestly, I don't know how I missed that rock on your finger 'cause it's _huge_." Peyton mused as she smiled genuinely, her green orbs locked onto the engagement ring that she saw on the fashion icon's finger, "he did good."

"Yeah, he did." The former cheer-captain grinned, perking up slightly as her hazel orbs locked onto the antique engagement ring that her fiancé had bought her. Honestly he had done _better _than good because it was everything she had ever wanted. It wasn't simple but, at the same time, it wasn't over the top. It was white gold with a round sapphire in the middle with several diamonds on each side and she hadn't taken it off once since it had been placed on her finger.

She cleared her throat as she reached for her purse, "but I have something for you," Brooke said suddenly as she continued to dig around her purse, her dimples poking out as she passed the confused blonde an envelope. "This is for you."

"Hey," Lucas greeted as he walked up to the former friends, blinking in surprise when he saw the look of pure confusion on his wife's face. He frowned slightly as his broody crossed his face, "am I interrupting something?"

"No," Brooke assured as she pulled the brooder in for a quick hug, smiling gently when she felt him return the hug. "You know, I kinda missed having you around, Lucas Scott – there was no one around being all broody."

"Yeah," he breathed out, "I missed you too, Brooke Davis."

_Hey, Luke._

_Brooke Davis – oh, I missed you._

"Brooke," Peyton interrupted softly as her husband released the brunette, her frown still tugging at her lips as she looked up at Brooke with confusion etched into her face. "What… is this our… is this…?"

"Is that your invitation to my wedding next week? Yes." Brooke nodded her head, chewing on her bottom lip as she fiddled with the ring that rested on her left hand. "I was going to send it to you but i didn't know _where _to send it or how that really worked since you were on a boat half the time and then I didn't have the address for Andy's house, but then again Haley probably had that," she rambled as her voice adopted a bitter tone at the last line before she shrugged it off, "but she said that you would be here so I just figured I'd wait… it's not that I never wanted to invite you… I mean, I did want to invite you – I do want to invite you, actually I _am _inviting you…"

"Whoa, B soon-not-to-be Davis, it's okay. I get it – we're not exactly the easiest people to get a hold of." Peyton assured as she grinned, looking down at the invitation in her hands before she looked up at Lucas – the two of them once again speaking with their eyes.

"Okay, good – but if the two of you can't make it, then that's okay too. I mean, no one has really told me how long you're going to be in town but if you could come to my wedding… it would just mean a lot to me if the two of you could be there." Brooke finished, exhaling as she waited for their response.

"We'll be there," Lucas said finally, his wife nodding along with him while they watched Brooke's face light up.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Peyton nodded as the former tutor's words resounded in her mind. After everything that the brunette had done for them, after everything that the two of them had put her through, the least they could do was be there for her on _her _day – the day when she would finally get the happy ending that she deserved. Actually, the artist was pretty sure that Brooke deserved it more than anyone else she had ever known.

Plus she seemed to want them there, and the last thing Peyton wanted was to let the brunette down again.

_Look, I really hurt Brooke and I just don't want her to be disappointed again._

Brooke's lips lifted up into a dimpled grin, one so genuine that it almost floored the tortured artist as she struggled to remember the last time she had seen her childhood best friend seem as happy as she had been today – hating herself for not being able to remember the last time she had seen _that _grin.

"So, where is the lucky guy? I need to tell your fiancé that he picked out one helluva ring," Peyton voiced suddenly as she pushed away the thought and refocused all of her attention on the brunette. This was about _Brooke_ – it was not time for her to get caught up in her own little world where she always made herself the victim. A destroyed friendship and a nearly destroyed relationship with Lucas, as well as two years to re-evaluate her life, had taught her that much.

"That's a _really _good question, actually." Brooke mused as she scanned the backyard for her fiancé who seemed to never be in one place for more than five minutes, her hazel orbs jumping from face to face as she tried to locate him. She had actually been looking for him before she had gotten distracted by Sam and Jamie's game of poker. She had to remind him that he and the other guys had to pick up their tuxes sometime over the next week – _preferably _before their rehearsal dinner.

"We saw him earlier, but he never said anything." Lucas commented, his lips pulling down into a frown as he tried to figure out why he _hadn't _said anything about the wedding. There was no doubt in his mind that anyone marrying Brooke Davis was a lucky man – someone who was gaining one hell of a family, and the brooder couldn't understand why her fiancé hadn't said anything. If it had been _him_, Lucas knew he would have told the world.

_I wanted the Lucas Scott from the beach that night; __**telling the world **__he was the one for me._

Confusion etched its way into the fashion icon's face as she looked at the two blondes, processing Lucas' words as her frown deepened. Her fiancé hadn't mentioned talking to the two of them earlier, not that she would be mad if he _had _talked to them, but she felt her confusion grow as she tried to figure out _why _he hadn't told her. Part of her figured that it was because he had known how much she had been freaking about their return, her heart instantly telling her that _that _had been his reason for not telling her.

God, she loved him.

Then her look of confusion faded, her ruby lips lifting up into a dimpled grin when he walked into her line of sight – grinning when she saw him walking out with Nathan and the other guys, all of them holding a beer while they laughed at something. "He's right over there," Brooke said happily as she gestured to him with a nod of her head.

-TBC-


	8. Part VIII

**A****N: **Hours were spent debating on whether or not I wanted to do this. I _was_ just going to have the final chapter, which will pick up where the _last _chapter ended, and it would be over & done with. That would be that. But as I edited the last chapter, I finally decided that this one would be a little intermission to show clips of what happened in the time jump. It'll explain stuff like, how Rachel ended up being in the fashion icon's life again (because we are _so _not even going to comment on the complete crap that was Rachel being married to _Dan_).

Yes, there is only one chapter left after this one.

Enjoy the next installment.

* * *

**An Interlude**

Brooke rolled her hazel eyes in annoyance as she moved her cell phone to the other ear, wincing as she listened to her assistant ramble on and on about how much she hated her, whining about how mean the fashion icon was for leaving her to deal with Victoria all on her own. Her eyebrow kinked as her friend continued to rant, knowing that there was nothing she could really do. Instead she offered gentle word when she deemed them appropriate but, even with her assistant shamelessly bitching over the phone, none of her words seemed to be able to wipe genuine smile off of the brunette's face – even though she knew that leaving _anyone _to deal with her mother was a cruel action given how ruthless Victoria could be.

Yet it seemed as though her mother had changed slightly since the _last _time the two of them had been in business together. While Victoria had no qualms about acting like a bitch if she thought that it would help her get her own way and still possessed a temper that could leave anyone quivering in fear if they were opposing her, the thought of it now made the fashion icon chuckle rather than roll her eyes. She would never admit it, but she had seen small similarities between the two of them had that she hadn't noticed before. She had inherited more than _just _her mother's looks.

"Oh and then that _bitch_…"

Brooke felt her interest pique when she heard her assistant use the word 'bitch,' her lips twisting into a smirk when the raven-haired woman moved on from complaining to giving the fashion icon her daily update on the latest schemes that had hatched from Victoria's vindictive mind. There was a small part of her that knew that it was wrong to have Millicent keep tabs on her mother while she was in Tree Hill, especially since it was more than obvious that the stick had been removed from Victoria's ass and she _had _changed, but that did now mean that Brooke could turn a blind eye and say that her mother had turned over a new leaf. There was no way that Victoria was seeking forgiveness for everything she had done, mainly because the former cheer-captain _refused _to believe that the older woman could have changed that much.

Her mother was still as bitchy as she had ever been – not to mention unbearable, which was on a good day – and the woman was still a borderline alcoholic. Yet it seemed as though Victoria was no longer trying to take over the company, instead she was only arguing with investors over the phone when needed and offering her opinion when asked. It was for that reason alone that Brooke was willing to give her mother another chance – but did that mean that she _trusted _her?

Hell no, but it _did _mean that Brooke was not going to spend all of her time worrying over her mother's presence and actions until she had a reason to.

Worrying was the last thing that was on her mind – instead she had went about completing the list that Millicent had presented her with after she had been attacked and signed her company over to her mother. That had been her goal whenever she wasn't at the office working on the new line that was scheduled to come out in a couple of months, because relaxing and getting her life back on track had been the reason that she had decided to fly her and her daughter up to New York for the summer.

She needed time to figure everything out and she had needed a break from all of the drama that her hometown seemed to hold.

_Take a look at yourself in a mirror; who do you see looking back?_

Even though she had originally run _back _to her hometown a few years ago to get away from all of the stress of the city, her time back in New York had done her well and she had rediscovered all of the reasons that she had originally fallen in love with it when she had been nineteen, but more importantly it was as if she had managed to rediscover the girl that she been back then. That was the most important part for the brunette and, she only hoped that getting away from her hometown would give her the chance for that girl to find her way to the surface.

Something that seemed to be working because even _Sam _had commented on the differences she had seen in the fashion icon.

"And the woman is driving me insane," Millicent finished ranting.

Brooke kinked her eyebrow even higher at rant she had just heard. "Millie, sweetie, the thing I call a mother was a pain in our perfect Pilates asses the last time she was a part of this company and, even though I will be the first one to admit that she had been a little more bearable as of late, are you _really _surprised that _that _hasn't changed?" She babbled in one breath, laughter falling from her ruby lips when she heard her assistant huff in annoyance before muttering to herself.

"Not really," Millicent muttered over the phone before she cursed loudly as she knocked something over, huffing once more before she continued on with what she had been about to say. "And you know that I'm your friend and I will always back you up one-hundred percent, right? But I really do not understand why _she _had to be the one to come down here and check on the store – though I do find it a little insulting that you left _me _in charge, but still think it _needs _to be checked up on – especially since you know that I _hate _dealing with her. I mean, even when she's trying to pull her whole reformed sinner routine she's an annoying pain in the ass and… and… I miss you – _we _miss you." She murmured.

Brooke paused in her strides and pursed her lips together, finally piecing together what her friend had really been whining about, the truth effectively annoying the hell out of her. Whenever she talked to one of her friends back home they felt the _insane _need to remind her of how much they missed her, about how much they couldn't wait for her to _finally _come home – it was all as though none of them thought she was ever going to go back.

She took a deep breath as she prepared to tell Millicent the same thing for the umpteenth time, making her way through the busy streets towards her penthouse where her daughter was waiting for her. "And I've told you, and everyone else for that matter, over a million times that this is only for the summer – after that? Sam and I will be back home and I will be making you work so freaking hard that you'll actually _want _me to go back to New York."

Millicent chuckled over the phone at her friend's flare for the dramatics, a soft sigh falling from her lips only a moment later. "Brooke, I wouldn't count on that happening if I was you – it's only been a month and we're already going through withdrawals."

Brooke blinked – _a month_.

It had officially been a month since she had packed up her life and returned to New York with the plucky teenager in town, attempting to get her life back on track, all the while trying to figure out what she needed in her life to make her happy. Yet she knew if she were being completely honest with herself, the fashion icon already knew what it was she needed to make her happy in life – though it was probably the biggest cliché in the world, all she needed to be happy was her _family_.

And that family was still back in her hometown, waiting for her to return with bated breath, sending all of their phone bills through the roof judging by the number of calls that they made to her in the run of a week. It annoyed the hell out of the fashion icon, but at least one of her friends called her every day, making sure that she still intended on returning them at the end of the summer – threatening her by saying that they would send Nathan to get her if she was not at the airport on the promised date of arrival.

What annoyed the brunette the most was the fact that none of them seemed to realise that her leaving home had never been about leaving _them_. It had been about her putting her life back together the best way she knew how and that was by running away – she knew that it was an odd concept for them to grasp, but running away had always been what she had done when she had needed to sort something out. And she had always returned home, once she had found the missing piece in her life and healed whatever had been broken, she had always returned home to them because they were home.

"Being at the boutique without you is practically unbearable, and I even miss having you around to eat all of the sweet and sour pork at lunch," Millicent continued to babble as she did her best to guilt-trip her friend into returning home sooner. "And then Marvin gets this sad look every now and then, not to mention how heartbroken Jamie is whenever he's with the guys – honestly, you should see it. It's probably the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life, the poor kid looks like someone ran over his puppy."

She allowed for a bittersweet smile to cross her face because she knew in her heart that she missed them all just as much, only to pause once again, a smirk forming on her face as she realised what her assistant was doing. "Millie, you're going to have to try a little harder than that if you want to manipulate me – Jamie doesn't even _have _a puppy."

"How do you know that?" Millicent scoffed, "You've been gone _for-ever_."

She scowled, "Millie!"

"Well fine then," her assistant huffed in annoyance while a scowl crossed her face, "Jamie doesn't have a puppy – but at the very least he looks as if someone ran over Chester."

Brooke rolled her eyes and released a sigh, walking up the steps to her house while struggled to find her keys among all of the junk, shaking her head in amusement when her assistant went on to tell her about Haley had dropped by the store earlier that day. Apparently the former tutor had been doing her best to come across as uninterested when she had asked how the fashion icon was doing in New York – not the Brooke was all the surprised, even though she _had _talked to Haley the night before. The two of them would be talking again later that very day as well.

Haley was the one that called her the most, opting for calling her _every _night to make sure she was okay, and because of it the fashion icon had a feeling that Nathan would have a heart attack when he saw that month's phone bill.

"Well, she's worrying for nothing so you can tell her I'm _fine _the next time you see her." Brooke commented easily, exhaling slowly even though she knew that nothing would stop the former tutor from worrying about her.

There was a pause over the line and she _knew _that her assistant was chewing on her bottom lip.

"Are you _really _okay, Brooke?" Her friend asked after a moment of silence, concern lacing her voice.

_Is it the person you wanna be?_

She paused at those words and pouted slightly in thought. There was no way that she could deny the fact that she was in better place than she _had _been when the summer had first started, plus she had slowly been morphing back into the person that she had always wanted to be – but was she fine? She had her Sam and it seemed as though her dream of being a mother had finally come true, she was running the company that she had been dreaming of since she had been a little girl, and she was getting along with her mother for the most part. Plus there was the fact that she felt… _happy_.

"Yeah I am, Millie." She assured her friend as she finally entered her front door, one that was just the right shade of red, her heels clicking against the floors as she held her phone away from her mouth for a moment she could call out to the sarcastic teenager. "Sam? Sam, I'm home! We ran a little late so, if you're hungry, we can order in tonight because I _know _how much you love greasy pizza – something that will surely added ten pounds to my hips."

Her hazel orbs narrowed when the teenager failed to respond and she rolled her eyes, opting for muttering to her friend about how Sam never took her damn headphones off her ears. Yet the teenager always stretched out on the couch while she listened to her gloomy music, so the fashion icon made her way through the archway that brought her into the living room, opening her mouth to scold the teenager for ignoring her. All of her words died on her lips though when she saw a familiar face sitting beside her daughter, her smile instantly slipping from her face, her eyes going wide as shock etched its way into her features.

"Brooke, honey," Millicent began when her friend stopped babbling about nonsense, "you okay?"

Brooke opened and closed her mouth several times, blinking at the sight in front of all, all of her words dying on her lips before she managed to get a few words out. "Um… I… I'll get back to you on that one," she stuttered as she brought the phone back up to her ear, "Millie? I'm going to have to call you back. Bye."

With that she snapped the phone shut and placed it in her pocket, knowing that her assistant was immediately going to call Haley in worry, but that was the furthest thought from her mind as she continued to stare at the duo sitting before her. She sent Sam a pointed look before her hazel orbs slowly began to drift over to the woman that she hadn't heard from in a little over a year, her heart pounding in her chest while tears swelled up in her eyes. There had been a part of her that had always believed that she would never see the redhead again and, if it weren't for the unsure expression that was strewn over her daughter's face, then Brooke would have surely thought that she was seeing things.

The redhead saw the confusion that was engraved into her best friend's face and slowly climbed to her feet, sharing a small smile with the teenager before her brown orbs flew back to Brooke, her lips slowly lifting up into a shy smile. She had no idea how to deal with the emotions that were assaulting her – on the one hand she was more than thrilled to see the former cheer-captain, but at the same time she felt as though she should be wincing from the aftershock of a slap already. Part of her _wanted _Brooke to slap her; she sure as hell deserved it.

She pushed those thoughts from her mind and released a deep breath, allowing for a small smirk to cross her face. "Hey, Slut."

Her heart fluttered at the sound of the familiar greeting though it had more confusion etching into Brooke's face as she resisted the urge to run across the room and engulf the woman in a hug. She had no idea which response was stronger – a weight had been lifted from her heart upon seeing her old friend and part of her wanted to cry in relief, but she could not deny the strong desire she felt to rush across the room and slap the bitch for causing her to worry. Finally she released a deep breath and blinked, needing to know she wasn't seeing things, only for her hazel eyes to swell up with more tears when she saw that the redhead was still there when she opened her eyes. She was really there, she was _home_.

Brooke opened her mouth to say something, only for her mouth to fall closed once again her hazel orbs swept over her friend, searching for any of the previous sadness that had been present in the redhead's eyes the last time that they had seen each other. Yet it seemed as though none of former depressed attitude lingered and, to be honest, the fashion icon noted that the woman before her appeared to be the same girl that she had learned to love back in high school. Closed off and a complete party girl, but there for you when you really needed a friend. Even knowing all of that though, she opted for not making any movements towards the red-haired woman.

She scowled at the woman for several more moments and then a dimpled grin finally crossed her face. "Hey, Bitch."

Rachel felt her eyes water with tears upon hearing the beloved nickname, her lips lifting up into a grin before she took off running towards her best friend, pulling the brunette into her arms and hugging her tightly. Throughout their friendship, the two of them had done their best to avoid all girly moments such as this, but the former model was so happy to see her friend in that moment that she didn't care. Later she would deny ever letting a few tears fall but, upon hearing the raspy laughter she had missed so much, she tightened her hold on Brooke – holding as tight as she could as if she were afraid that the brunette would disappear if you let her go.

Brooke released a deep breath and blinked away all of her tears, returning the hug just as fiercely as the truth tumbled from her lips, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Brooke." Rachel admitted with a chuckle before she pulled away from her best friend, her expression suddenly turning serious as she reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope before she held it out to the brunette, wincing slightly. "I'm not really sure how much money I took from you, but that should definitely cover all of it."

"Rachel," Brooke warned with wide eyes as she shook her head in protest, "no I am not taking…"

Rachel scowled at her best friend. "Brooke, do not even _try _to talk me out of doing this! This has been weighing on my conscience ever since I took the damn money from you and I can't deal with this guilt anymore." Her eyebrows rose as she looked at the fashion icon with a dead-serious expression, a smile tugging at her lips. "And do you know how hard it is to get laid when you have little voices in the back of your head, telling you that you _stole _from your best friend? Talk about a major cock-bloc, I was half way through ripping the clothes off a guy the other night before I bolted – you may have turned into a prude since high school, but _I _cannot live like this!"

Brooke did not look moved, "I'm _not _taking that money."

Hazel and russet orbs met in a staring match, neither of the former cheerleaders willing to back down, all the while a highly amused teenager continued to watch as the two women continued to stare at each other. It was as if they were having a conversation without using words, which they sort of were. With one glance Brooke could see that her friend was truly sorry and refused to take no for an answer, while the redhead knew that there was nothing that really needed to be forgiven – she knew that, just like she knew that her friend would _never _accept the money.

"Well, I'm not _keeping _the money." Rachel declared stubbornly as she pursed her lips together, narrowing her brown orbs when the fashion icon merely shrugged at her, only for a smug grin to light up her face as she whirled around and tossed the envelope to the teenager. "Just don't spend it all in one place."

"Rachel!" Brooke scolded.

"_Freaking sweet__!_" Sam cried out in excitement as she looked into the envelope and took in the amount of money she had just been given, looking up at her mother with a wide grin as she jumped up from the couch, "She is _so _much cooler than Peyton ever was!"

She ran from the room and left the two friends alone together as they tried to think of what they _should _say, the teenager's spoken words hanging over the two of them as the silence grew on. There was no denying that Sam had partially hit the nail right on the head – because it had been Rachel that the fashion icon had been closer to at the end of senior year. She had been there for the former cheer-captain even though she had never needed to be and she had never put herself above her best friend, something that had warmed Brooke's heart back then, and still did. It was also why _'best friend' _had been a title that either Rachel or Haley had held by the end of high school, even if such a truth had never been voiced aloud.

Haley had always been there and the redhead had always been able to relate to the bubbly brunette far better than anyone else could, except Nathan that was. Their earlier years of life were practically mirror images of each other and because of that they had built a bond that no one had ever been able to understand, but it was a bond that could never be broken. They had always been honest with each other, and they had always gone out of their way to help the other without ever expecting something back in return.

Brooke frowned. Maybe it was because of that single fact that she felt as though she could bury the hatchet with the former model, an action that she had never been able to do with the tortured artist that she had known since childhood. In all of her memories it seemed as though everything Peyton had ever done had somehow bettered herself, whereas the redhead had always been there for the fashion icon because she had _wanted _to be there – not because she had expected something out of it. Back in high school Rachel had risked not graduating for her friend, while Peyton had manipulated and stolen the one boy that the brunette had loved.

"You know," Rachel began after a few moments of silence, "it seems like you were a bigger slut than I ever gave you credit for."

Brooke blinked, "_How?_"

"You have a teenage daughter. You know, I didn't realise you started those legs at the age of _seven_!" Her friend shrugged with a coy grin lighting up her face, amusement etched into her features as she looked at the fashion icon in contemplation, "Maybe I _was _right for calling you Slut all of these years."

Brooke simply smiled instead of taking part in the banter that their friendship had been built on; finally feeling as though she had found what she had been missing from her life. She had known that her friends were what made her happy, because her friends were her family – but that family had been incomplete ever since the feisty redhead had left her life. But she was back now and it took all of the brunette's self-control to not break out into song.

"You know, a part of me wants to kick your fat ass for that comment but I am _so _happy to see you right now, that I don't even care." Her expression softened after she heard her friend scoff in disbelief, "just… just promise me that you won't disappear this time."

Rachel grinned as she collapsed onto the couch, pulling her best friend down with her before she threw one of her arms around Brooke's shoulders. Her smile widened when the brunette curled into her side, her head leaning against the head of brown hair as she closed her eyes, "Slut, you couldn't drag me out that door even if you wanted to."

Brooke smiled softly, "only because your ass wouldn't fit."

Hazel orbs glanced up and watched as the redhead rolled her eyes, but what she focussed on the most was the grin that she had seen engraved into her friend's features, knowing that the same grin had been carved into her own. She had missed Rachel over the past year and she could hardly believe that she had never noticed it before, but in that moment she knew that it was _right _to have Rachel there with her. The two of them had started out as enemies, only to be become friends. Who would have thought that _Rachel _would have grown on her over the years?

"So, how did you end up in New York again?" Rachel questioned as genuine curiosity laced her expression, her two eyebrows raised expectantly as she looked down at her friend, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "Because you seemed pretty determined to stay in Tree Hill the last time I saw you – I'm pretty sure that's the only time you've ever bitched at your mother."

"Actually, when I found out you left, I bitched at her and kicked her ass to the curb."

Rachel blinked, "you actually _fired _her?"

Brooke opened her mouth to explain it all to her – about how she _had _fired her mother, only to sign the whole company over to her after her attack, only to be welcomed back to the company once again when it started to go under without her designs. She released a long breath, shaking her head, "that is a _very _long story."

Rachel perked up at that and beamed at her best friend, "Ah – I knew that there would be some juicy Tree Hill drama!" She smacked her friend's arm in anticipation, "C'mon, tell me _all _of the naughty details."

Brooke snorted – where the hell was she supposed to begin?

She had never thought about it before, but so much had happened since the last time Rachel had been in the small town. There was all of the Lucas drama, which included two weddings – one being his failed attempt at marring his editor while the other had been the wedding that almost the whole world had been waiting for since his book had been published the wedding between Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott. Then there was the crazy nanny that had had terrorized her beloved Naley plus one for _months_, the attack that the fashion icon had suffered, not to mention the falling out she'd had with the two blondes…

Another sigh escaped her lips as she looked at the redhead. "Do you have a few hours?"

A sincere expression crossed Rachel's face as she smiled, "I'm not going anywhere."

**-x-**

Brooke smiled as she walked through the building that just screamed _professional_, but she could not deny how cozy it was because of the various plants and all of the warm hues that were strewn across the walls. She had been expecting to find serene tones when she walked into the building – blues, greens, even whites – and she had been secretly hoping that those soothing colours would be able to diminish her nerves, but she was glad that the warmer shades had had the same effect on her. All of which she was happy for, because there was no way that she could chicken out of doing this. She had put this off for far too long as it was and, since she was boarding a plane back to her hometown in a few hours, she knew that she could not delay it any longer.

She released a deep breath as the reality of the situation dawned on her. Her three months of vacating her life had finally come to an end – _summer _had finally come to an end and it was time for her to go back home to her family and drag her daughter school shopping. Sam would surely moan and groan the entire time, but the fashion icon could care less at the current moment. Though her time away had been exactly what she had needed, all the while reconnecting her with the slutty redhead, she had missed all of the people she had left back home; the people that she loved.

It was time for her and her daughter to go back home.

Somehow she had even managed to convince the former model to go with them. Brooke figured it had been her persistence over the past two months that had won her friend over but, even though Rachel had cleaned up her act, the thought of leaving her alone in New York surrounded by all of the temptations that the city held scared the _hell _out of the fashion icon. It wasn't because she didn't trust Rachel either; it was because she could not deny that she would be more comfortable if her friend was with her. Plus there was the fact that she didn't _want _to leave without the redhead.

She had been depended on the redhead by the end of her senior of high school and, since the two of them had met up again two months ago, they had become practically inseparable and the brunette had no idea how she could go back to before. Besides, she was going back home to her _family _and the former model was a part of that family, regardless of how much Haley James-Scott had moaned when she had learned that the slutty redhead would be returning to Tree Hill. None of that mattered to the fashion icon though, Rachel was _family _– she had been for years.

And she remembered the promise that she had made to the redhead the _last _time she had been in Tree Hill, and the fashion icon had every intention of keeping it. She hadn't brought it up to her friend yet, but if all went according to plan, she would be asking Rachel to be the face of _Clothes over Bros _– a plan that even the temperamental Victoria Davis would be able to shoot down. They were in the process of rebuilding the company and needed the best, and Rachel _was _the best.

She had been the best model that the company had seen before she had fallen into the partying scene and the drugs, and Brooke was positive that her friend could make it work this time. Rachel often said that modeling for _Clothes over Bros _had been the best time of her life and all the former cheer-captain wanted was for her friend to be happy and, if she could make that happen for her by giving the redhead her old job back, then she would.

She knew that Rachel would not fall into those old habits again and, more than anything, she knew that she would never turn her back on her friend ever again.

Her lips pursed together as she continued to walk through the building, a deep breath escaping her ruby lips as she thought back to the person she had slowly been turning into back then. She had been neglecting to everyone in her life and she had been bitter towards the world, two things that she had never been before, and she had turned her back on her friend when Rachel had needed her the most. For a lack of a better way of putting it, she had been turning into a _bitch _and she had hated it.

But she had rescued herself, and she was not that person anymore.

Now she only had one more thing left to do before she was ready to go home – it was time for her to cleanse her karma.

Just like when Rachel had attempted to pay back every cent she had stolen, it was time for the fashion icon to make peace with all of her demons. Over a year had past and, over that time, it had been weighing over her conscience and it was about damn time she did something to silence the guilt that she felt. Of course Rachel had rolled her eyes and opted for making ill comments, telling the fashionista that it was far too late, but she had immediately backed off when she had seen how much it meant to her best friend.

Even if it _was _too late, Brooke had to know that she had done everything to apologize for what she had done.

_Rachel arched one of her eyebrows as she stared at her best friend, swinging her feet in the air while she lid on her stomach, frowning slightly as the fashion icon continued to run around the room making sure that she had everything she needed before heading back to her hometown. Yet there would be one stop on the way to the airport the next day and, even though the former model understood where her friend was coming from, she could not help but think that it was far too late for this apology._

_She had voiced those thoughts too, yet the brunette had merely scowled at her before telling the 'redheaded harlot' to mind her own damn business. She had opted for keeping her mouth shut after that, but that had been five minutes ago and nothing had been said since – something that was slowly killing Rachel on the inside. Keeping her thoughts and opinions to herself had never been her strong point, it being one of the reasons many people thought she was a bitch, but she would try her best for the brunette._

_Never let it be said that Rachel Gatina did not have the fashion icon's back._

_Brooke glanced up and looked at her friend who was stretched out on her bed, a frustrated huff escaping her lips upon seeing the expression that had engraved its way into the redhead's face. The fashion icon understood why her friend thought this was a waste of time – hell, maybe it was a waste of time – but that did not mean she could let it go. Over the past couple of months she had been finding herself again, becoming the person she had once been, and she could not to that until she did this._

"_Rachel, I know that you don't understand why I have to do this, but can you please stop looking at me like that?" She pleaded, kinking her signature eyebrow as she exhaled deeply. "You of all people should know how much past demons and mistakes can weigh on you," she whispered._

_Rachel rolled her eyes and rolled over so she was sitting up on the bed, her brown orbs trained on her best friend as silence passed between the two of them, once again having a conversation with their eyes. What her friend didn't realise was that she understood all too well why Brooke felt as though she had to do this, but that did not mean that the former model could support it. There was a chance that the brunette would not get the outcome she wanted and Rachel did not want that fact set the fashion icon back._

"_Brooke, it's not that I don't understand it's just…" Rachel paused and licked her lips nervously before she sighed, "You have to realise that you may not get the response you want. It's bee over a year and she could have… I just don't know if I can support this." She admitted, concern filling her brown eyes._

"_And I'm not asking you to," the brunette smiled softly as she opted for not teasing her friend for her sentimental words, "but I _**am **_asking you to support _**me**."

_Rachel groaned in annoyance when her friend pouted at her, rolling her eyes before she nodded her head slowly. "Fine, do whatever you have to do, Slut."_

Brooke released a deep breath to calm herself, pushing the memory from her mind as her heels continuing to click against the floor, thinking about how it would all be over in ten minutes. Once those ten minutes were up, no matter what the response was, she would be heading back home. One of her friends would be picking the three of them up from the airport and then they would all head over to Naley's house for a welcome-home dinner. She almost grinned when she remembered how Haley had threatened to kick the redhead's used-to-be fat ass if she hit on Nathan _once_.

Yet all signs of her smile faded from her face as she scanned the doors as she passed, looking for the familiar named. She should have done this a long time ago and she had no idea why she had pushed it off so long – part of her guessed it had been because she had felt as though she wouldn't have been welcomed in the first place but, even though there was a chance that the redhead had been right, the brunette refused to let her fear hold her back again.

It had been pushed off for far too long and enough was enough.

She needed to do this and, as tempting as the thought was, she knew that she would not be able to let it go if she ran in the other direction. Brooke had managed to push it to the back of her mind for a year, but it had resurfaced over the past few months and it was about time she faced it. The fashion icon needed this closure just as much as the other woman did.

Her hazel orbs scanned the names that rested on the passing doors, widening slightly found the one that she had been looking for. She paused and chewed on her bottom lip, lifting up her hand to knock on the door gently before she lost all of her nerve, knowing that there was no going back now.

"Come in," the familiar voice rang out from inside the office, causing the fashion icon to grin upon hearing it. She could do this.

Brooke released another breath and reached down to jerk the door open before she walked into the large office, a patience smile strewn over her pretty face as she waited for the other woman to look up at her, almost chuckling when she did and pure surprise crossing her face at the sight of the fashion icon. Somehow the brunette knew she would have released her laughter if the visit had been under different circumstances – but it wasn't and this was a serious matter.

The editor scrunched her face up in confusion, "Brooke?"

"Lindsay, hi." Brooke greeted nervously as she offered a small wave in greeting, biting down on her lip, "it's – uh – it's been a while."

"Yeah, it has," Lindsay laughed as some of her surprise faded, sending the brunette a slight grin.

Yet saying that it had been _'a while' _was a complete understatement. The last time the two of them had seen each other had been when the editor had rushed out of the church, wearing the dress that the fashion icon had made her, walking out on the wedding that hadn't happened. Back then the two of them had been friends but, because of the loyalty that had resided with her childhood best friend and Lucas, the fashion icon hadn't bothered to keep in contact with Lindsay after she had put Tree Hill in her rear-view mirror.

"Brooke what are you… what are you doing here?" She questioned honestly as her frown became more prominent, knowing that there had to be a reason for the sudden reason, but she could not think of anything.

"I'm here because…" Brooke trailed off with a sigh before she offered the editor an apologetic grin, "I'm here because I owe you an apology."

Lindsay blinked in surprise. "What?" She questioned as a small chuckle escaped her lips before she looked at the fashion icon with a serious expression, sighing softly. "Brooke, you don't owe me an apology – _you _never did anything wrong."

And deep inside, they both knew it to be true. When the editor had been living in Tree Hill, Brooke had done everything she could to involve Lindsay in her life – inviting her out for lunch and helping plan the wedding in any way she could. She had gone out of her way to try and make the editor feel welcomed without betrayed the tortured artist who had needed a shoulder to cry on. It had been a difficult position to be him, but Brooke had tried her best and that was all the editor could have ever asked of the woman with the dimpled grin.

Brooke was not the one who owed her an apology.

"But I _did_," Brooke claimed as she let out a deep breath and looked down at her shoes. "After everything, I should have been there for you because we were friends, Lindsay." She explained, not feeling the need to voice what happened aloud because she knew from experience that the editor hadn't forgotten about the pain that she had felt. Their gazes locked. "And that should have been the only thing that mattered, is shouldn't have immediately gone to Team Peyton because you left town."

Lindsay sighed, "Brooke…"

Her brown hair fell into her face as she shook her head. "No, I knew what you were going through and I was _probably _one of the few people in the world that would have been able to relate to what you were going through. I could have comforted you, but I didn't, and for that I'm sorry."

_Or is there someone else you were meant to be, the person you should have been, but fell short of?_

When she had fought with the tortured artist, the fight that had been the one moment that had led her to this moment, Brooke had told Peyton that she had been wrong in supporting the blonde's pursuit of Lucas when he had been _engaged _to his editor. It had been high school all over again and it had been Lindsay that had been the one starring as the heartbroken footnote, yet the former cheer-captain had done nothing to console her. And Lindsay had deserved that, at the very least – actually, she had deserved a hell of a lot _more _than that.

Lindsay's lips lifted up into a small, genuine smile as she nodded. "Thank-you."

"Apology accepted?"

"Brooke, there was _never _anything to forgive, but thank you anyway." Lindsay said with a chuckle before a silence descended upon the two of them, her face twisting into a hesitant expression as she looked up at her old friend, "would you… would you, _maybe_, like to grab a coffee? It's on me – and I promise to splurge on extra foam."

"I would love to, but I actually have to catch a flight back home." Brooke sighed as she bit her lip nervously, kinking her eyebrow as she watched the editor bob her head up and down in understanding before she cleared her throat slightly. "But, maybe we could grab one the next time I'm in town on business?"

"I would love that."

Brooke smiled, "me too."

Both of their lips lifted up as they shared a genuine smile. They both knew that their friendship was nowhere near where it had once been, but it would all be okay in time because _they _would be okay. There would be a time when all of the drama and heartache that they had suffered would fade, getting to the point where it would no longer matter because it had made them stronger. They would find love again and, as much of a cliché as it was, they both knew that it had been all of the drama and heartache that had moulded them into the people that they had become – the people that they had always meant to be.

"Well, I gotta get going because Rachel and Sam can only go so long without getting into trouble, but I guess I'll be seeing you." Brooke said after a moment of silence, feeling as though she had said everything that she had went there to say – two craters indenting her cheeks when the editor nodded happily.

"Yeah, I'll be looking forward to it." Lindsay said honestly, pausing a moment before continuing, "thanks for coming."

"No problem." Brooke assured as she turned to leave, only to pause at the doorway, looking back at the editor with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Hey, Lindsay?" She called out, only continuing when the other woman looked up to meet her gaze, "It does get better. You've probably moved on from all of it by now, but know that I speak from experience when I say that I _know _you still carry it around with you but… that pain will slowly wane as time passes. I promise you that."

She offered the editor one more smile and then left the office, closing the door gently behind her, a breath of relief escaping her ruby lips. It felt as though a thousand pounds had been lifted off her shoulders and the fashion icon felt as though she were free of her past and all of her demons – _finally_. And, as she slowly headed back towards the cab where her daughter and friend were waiting for her, a large smile lit up her face.

It was time for her to go home.

**-x-**

Her hazel orbs drifted up to scowl at the clock once again as its loud ticking filled the room, rolling her eyes as she returned her gaze to her sketch pad. Weeks had passed since she had returned home and the time to present her designs to the board was quickly approaching, something that was stressing the fashion icon out to the max, a truth that she refused to tell her friends when they asked her how it was going. Because she was _happy_ – she loved her company and she loved all of her designs, ones that her daughter had helped inspire, but there were days when she wondered if she had made the right choice in expanding her empire.

Would _just _having her designs been enough?

She could hear the clock continue to tick in the background as though it were taunting her.

A groan fell from her ruby lips and she pushed the sketch pad away from her, allowing it to rest at the other end of her desk, pouting in thought. Her life would have been so much easier if she had gone back to the company without a deadline looming over her, it would have been so much easier if the fate of the company wasn't resting on the designs that she had been working on for months – the ones that she had been working on since before she had travelled to New York for the summer.

"Brooke, are you _sure _that there is _nothing _I can help you with?" Millicent questioned with a sigh as she walked into the room, gaining her friend's attention.

Brooke glanced up and locked eyes with her beloved friend, shaking her head as her ruby lips lifted up into a slight smile. Her raven-haired assistant had done more than enough for her since she had returned to her hometown – hell; Millicent had been there for her so much over the past year. She had been the one to help the brunette that she needed to heal herself after she had been attacked, and their bond had only grown since then. The fashion icon had no idea how she would have been able to make it without her.

Even when she had disappeared for the summer, her assistant had done everything in her power to help out. After she had gone back to the company, the small boutique had been filled up with clothes and accessories all over again, and it had been Millicent that had offered to run the boutique while the fashion icon was out of town – because she had always known how much that one store had meant to the former cheer-captain. Not to mention the countless hours that she had spent calling suppliers and getting everything in order for the new line.

Millicent placed her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as a warning fell from her lips, "Brooke!"

"You can help my by going back in time and stopping me from signing over the company in the first place," Brooke whined as she allowed for head to fall back against her chair, her usual pout engraved into her face as she cursed herself for the decision for the umpteenth time. What the hell had she been thinking? If she had never signed the company over to her mother, it never would have gone under in the first place, meaning she wouldn't be in the mess that she was in now. If she had never left the company, its fate would not be depending on _these _designs.

She closed her eyes in defeat. "I can't do this, Millie."

_Is someone telling you can't or you won't? _

_Because you can.  
_

"Sweetie, yes you can, you are – oh whatever." Millicent huffed suddenly as annoyance filled her voice, walking over to stand beside her friend, scowling down at the fashion icon. "You are going to snap out of this right now because you _can _do this. You a Brooke-freaking-Davis and you're put far too much time and effort into this line to give up now – and more importantly, I am not going to _let _you give up."

"But…"

"Nu-uh, no buts! The reason that this company went under is because _you _weren't there. You were the reason that it was successful in the first place – not your mother, _you_ – and everything is going to be fine." Millicent continued with a grin, "So I don't want to hear you doubt yourself anymore, okay? Don't make me have Rachel bitch slap you."

Brooke huffed at her friend's threat. "Yeah, like _that _would ever happen. You would never willingly talk to Rachel," the brunette muttered grumpily, "you _hate _her."

"But I _love_ you," the raven-haired woman pointed out in a sing-song voice before her expression went serious. "And if it were for you? I would put up with both Bitchtoria _and _Rachel – _together._"

"That is the _sweetest _thing you have ever said," the fashionista muttered sarcastically.

"You know you love me," Millicent grinned as she smacked her friend's arm, "Now… let me see those designs."

Brooke scowled up at her friend as Millicent wiggled her fingers, rolling her eyes as handed the sketch pad over.

Almost immediately her friend started gushing over how great the designs were and the brunette nodded – maybe she _could _do this.

**-x-**

She kinked an eyebrow as she watched him pace her around her kitchen, throwing her head back and finishing off her glass of wine.

"Yes… no, of course not…. I _know _that… you can't just make decisions like this without contacting…" Julian huffed in annoyance as he continued to pace around the beach house, rolling his eye upward as he cradled the phone between his and his shoulder while his father continued to argue with him. "No, I cannot be there tomorrow… because I have a week off – _that's _why!"

She sighed as she slid off the stool she had been sitting on, moving around the kitchen as she started to clean up the empty boxes of Chinese food that they had eaten that night. The three of them – her, Julian and Sam – had all ordered some food before forcing the teenager to watch The Breakfast Club and Grease 2, the large beach house filling with laughter until the younger teenager had retired to bed, telling the two adults to behave themselves. Both had rolled their eyes at the teasing before they had sat down at the counter, drinking wine and chatting, only for the happy atmosphere to be destroyed when his phone rang.

She had a bad feeling, from what she had heard, that the producer would have to leave town sooner than he had expected. He had officially been in town for three days, opting for travelling to the small town for his time off since he didn't have really close friends back in LA, and there was no denying that the two brunettes had been thrilled to have him around. Even Rachel and Julian had hit off when the two of them had met, but sadly the redhead hadn't been able to join in on the fun tonight – she was off somewhere causing trouble with _whoever _she was hooking up with this week. But, at any rate, the fashion icon was glad that the two of them got along because Julian Baker had become an even larger part of her life than she had ever imagined possible and there was an empty void in her life whenever he was gone.

But the two of them weren't together.

They had talked about it and, though they had decided to not reject the possibility of getting back together someday, for now they were just friends – _good _friends.

And that was enough for her.

She sighed and walked over to her previous seat, flipping through a random magazine as she glanced over at Julian once again as he continued to argue with the person on the other end of the line and, based on the way that he seemed to roll his eyes every five seconds, the former cheer-captain was willing to bet big money that he was talking to his father. Such a fact made her heart grow heavy. It seemed as though Paul Norris' relationship with his only son was even worse that the relationship that she shared with Victoria – and it seemed as though the only reason he was calling his son now was because he wanted Julian to _leave_.

"_Of course _I have read over the script!" Julian groaned in annoyance while his pacing ceased, rubbing his face with his free hand, exhaustion seemingly overtaking his body. "Yeah… I agree… yeah the story is there and with a little tweaking it could probably be great, but I _just _finished a movie!" He pursed his lips together as he rolled his eyes. "What do you mean, what does that have to do with anything? It means that I _don't _want to jet off to New Zealand right now."

Brooke felt her eyes go wide, gawking at the producer in horror – _New Zealand? For __**nine **__months?_

"Yeah Dad, you don't have to tell me – I know that cementing my career is one movie away, _this _movie away." Julian sighed dejectedly as his head fell back in defeat. "Fine, I'll drive up to Charlotte tomorrow and go over the script with her, give her some notes and stuff… yeah, I'll see if she'll for it. Bye."

He snapped the cell phone shut and a silence descended over the room, the producer glancing over to lock eyes with the brunette who _tried _to appear as though she had been focussing on the magazine in front of her, but he knew from her saddened expression on her face that she had been listening. It was easy to see that she didn't want him to go just as much as _he _really didn't want to go – he couldn't imagine being away from her for that long, from Jamie and Sam, from everyone in Tree Hill who had slowly been accepting him into their lives now that they knew he wasn't there to screw someone over.

"You make sad look beautiful, Brooke Davis." He said simply as he moved over to lean against the opposite side of the counter, grinning over at the fashion icon.

"What was that all about?" She mumbled as her eyes drifted back down to the magazine, opting for playing the dumb card instead of owning up to the fact she had been eavesdropping.

"My dad wants to get started on this movie right away – he already has a couple of people in mind for the cast." He explained softly as he rubbed the back of his neck, his inner turmoil showing as he reached over to take the magazine from her, forcing the brunette to give him her full attention. "Apparently _I _wasn't the only one that Ales sent a script to and he seems to think that it really could be great."

"You said the same thing when you read it."

He nodded slightly, "Yeah, I know."

"Then you should take it," she blurted out as she reached her hand out to rest on top of his, "it sounds like a _really _great opportunity."

Julian continued to nod for a moment before he looked up at Brooke with a sad expression, a sigh falling from his lips. "I was just hoping to get a little more time in Tree Hill," he admitted, "Sam wanted to go to the theatre and watch _Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman_ and then I told Jamie that I would take him out to play some baseball before I left again and… how am I supposed to tell Sam that I'm leaving?" He questioned, remembering how happy the teenager had been when he had shown up at the doorstep several days before.

Neither of them was stupid, they both knew that the teenager was still hoping that the two of them would find their way back to each other so she could finally have the family that she had always wanted. But the brunette's life was in Tree Hill and she _refused _to leave because it was where her family was, while his job dragged him all over the world for months at a time and he didn't see it happening any time soon – if it even happened at all.

His heart held a piece for the fashion icon, but he could not fault her if she fell in love with someone else, just like she would never fault him for the same thing.

All they wanted was for their friend to be happy.

"You're asking the wrong person… when would you have to leave?" She asked quietly.

"He wants me to talk to Alex tomorrow and go over the script, so I guess I could take Sam along with me since she's interested in the industry, and maybe the two of us would make it back in time to catch the film but…" he sighed softly, shaking his head. "My dad wants me back in LA by the end of the week so we can talk about the film, assuming that Alex agrees with everything, and then it's just a matter of getting the cast and crew together because he apparently has everything else taken care of. Then it's New Zealand for nine months."

Brooke pouted in thought.

"Why did I become a movie producer again?" He chuckled humourlessly.

She shrugged, "because you went to see The Red Line with Paul and it was the one day that you truly felt close to your father."

"You don't know me, Brooke Davis."

"Oh, but I think I do, Julian Baker." Brooke chuckled as she stood up from her stool and walked around the counter, pulling the producer in for a hug, resting her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "So, I guess this means that it'll be goodbye for a little while."

"Yeah, but we can still stay in contact and up to date on each other's lives – I'll send you postcards every time we go somewhere new and you can call me, sending both of our phone bills through the roof." Julian chuckled as he tightened his hold on the brunette, "and I promise I'll be back the _moment _I get time off."

"Of course you will, you promise Jamie that would go to his next birthday so the two of you could try to beat Teacher-Mom's record on Guitar Hero." Brooke grinned as she pulled away from the hug, grinning up at him, "plus it wouldn't really be the same around here if you left for good. You're the only one other than Haley that seems to be able to get Rachel to stop picking on _me_."

"It's nice to know that I serve some sort of purpose in your life," he commented as he sent her his illegal grin, leaning his forehead against hers.

Raspy laughter fell from her lips as the cute little grin crossed his face, closing her eyes in contentment. She had no idea when it had happened, but she felt more comfortable with Julian than she had felt with a man in a long time, and the thought made her sigh. She had no doubt in her mind that the two of them would have been happy if she had followed him to LA, at least for a little while…

"How come we couldn't make _us _work again?" Brooke questioned honestly.

"Because, even though we love each other, we don't know if it's the always-and-forever sort of love or of it's a you-are-a-good-friend-and-I-love-you-like-family sort of love." Julian answered seriously with a slight grin on his face, knowing that he didn't care in the long run if they only ended up as friends, as long as she was a part of his life. "And we both know what it feels like to be a footnote in someone else's love story and we do _not _want to end up settling with each other because, after the hell that our hearts have been dragged through, we want to believe that love is out there."

_Believe that love is there._

Julian lifted his hands up and placed them on either side of her face. "And I've already told you that you would find love someday – and I believe that. One of these days you're going to open your heart to someone without realising it and, if it works out for you, then it works out and I'll find someone else. Then the two of us will know that we haven't settled but… if it doesn't, then we'll know that maybe _we _are meant to be together."

Brooke chuckled at his speech, "two footnotes of the Pucas love triangle ending up together… please tell me I am not the only one that finds the irony in that in some sort of weird way."

Even months later she could remember how the two blondes had attempted to force the two of them together at their wedding – as if everything _they _had done would be okay if the former cheer-captain ended up with the producer, the guy who had given his heart to Peyton Sawyer, only to have it stomped on repeatedly.

His illegal grin etched into his face. "It would be irony at its best but, since I am a man who likes to be prepared, let's say if we're both still single when we turn thirty…" he trailed off as he backed away from the brunette, wiggling his eyebrows at her when she laughed, "you and I – _you know_."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Hmmm, that wasn't really the response I was going for, so I'll do this properly." Julian grinned as he fell down onto one knee, holding one of her hands in his as he gazed up at her with mirth dancing in his eyes. "Brooke Penelope Davis, in fear of the two of us ending up bitter and all alone like our parents, will you be my back-up wife?"

"Oh, of course!" Brooke mocked, loud laughter falling from her lips when the producer fist-pumped the air and jumped up to his feet, rolling her eyes as he kissed her cheek. "That is what _every girl _wants to be… someone's _back-up_ wife."

"Well fine," he scoffed as he squinted at her, "_hey it's me, I'm at the airport with two tickets to Vegas, you wanna get married tonight?_"

Brooke doubled over in laughter upon seeing his impression of Lucas, falling against him as her entire body shook.

"See," he boasted, "my proposal was better."

**-x-**

Brooke threw her car keys into her purse as she headed towards the door to her boutique, thrilled that everything seemed to have finally fallen into place since she had returned home a few months ago. Her daughter was doing _great _in school and she had presented the new line to the board and all of their investors the other day and to say that they had loved them would be a complete understatement. All that was left was to hear back from all of them to see how _much _they had loved them, all that was left was to see if they were enough to save the company that she had spent years of her life building.

The bell above the door chimed as she walked into the boutique, her eyes instantly fluttering over to where her mother was sitting quietly on the white sofa, looking as though she was in deep thought over something. The fashion icon had never been able to read her mother's stony face very well, but even she could tell that her mother seemed trouble over sometimes. Her stomach instantly dropped – had Victoria heard from the board, from the investors? Had they hated all of her designs, meaning that she had let all of those people down? That she had let her _mother _down? Had all of their hard work _not _been enough to save the company?

Brooke released a deep breath as she prepared for her heart to be dragged through hell and back, her hazel orbs remaining locked onto her mother, opening and closing her mouth as she searched for something to say. She figured that _announcing _her presence was as good of a place as any to start, only for all of her words to die on her lips when she saw the luggage at her mother's feet, her eyebrows crumpling together in confusion. There was only one question on her mind – _what the hell_?

All of the words she had planned on saying faded from her mind as a look of pure perplexity etched its way into her face.

"Are… are you going somewhere?" Brooke asked in confusion, her head tilting to the side in confusion as she interrupted her mother's thoughts.

Victoria looked up in surprise before her face fell into the emotionless mask that she always seemed to be wearing – because while her daughter had always been the one to hide behind a fake smile or her cheery person, her mother had always opted for hiding behind a façade of indifference. Their inability to face their feelings had always been something that had linked the duo, though the two of them had gone through like for years without picking up on the similarity.

"I'm going back to New York," the older brunette explained after clearing her throat.

Brooke bobbed her head up and down as the confusion immediately wiped from her face. Somewhere at the bottom of her heart she had always known that it had only been a matter of time before her mother left the small town and went back to her life and, after the two of them had spent months working together and coming up with ways to save _Clothes over Bros_, it was time for everything to go back to normal; it was time for her mother to leave again. Victoria had been there to save the company, there had been no illusions about that, and they had both known that the arrangement was never meant to be permanent.

Hell, the former cheer-captain was surprised that her mother had lasted as long as she had in Tree Hill.

It was no secret that the older brunette hated the small town more than anything, yet she had somehow managed to stay there for over a month without losing her mind altogether.

Yet the fashion icon did not know how she felt about Victoria leaving town again. The two of them had managed to build a successful work relationship over the past few months and the thought of her mother leaving _scared _the hell out of Brooke. There was a fear in the pit of her stomach, one that told her that their entire friendship would crumble with the distance that would now between the two of them and she did not want that. The two of them had made great strides as of late and, even though they weren't close by any standards, Brooke still had Sam to think about.

It was impossible for her to _not _think of her daughter.

The news that Victoria was leaving would _crush _the teenager because, for some ungodly reason, she seemed to genuinely _like _Victoria.

"The designs are excellent and the new line should be enough to stabilize the company," Victoria continued once her statement had sunk in, "there's nothing left for me to do here."

Brooke opened and closed her mouth several times, only to give up on trying to think of something to say, opting to look down at the floor as she did her best to bury the feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Her heart was screaming at her, telling her that Victoria was wrong because there was so much for the older brunette to do in the small town. The fashion ion did not dare voice them aloud though, nor did she let her mind delve into them further. She had given up on those dreams a _long _time ago.

"But there are a few things that I need to leave you with." Victoria admitted as she heaved herself up off the sofa, walking towards her daughter as she listed all of the responsibilities that the younger woman would have to attend to, "we need to call our publicist and arrange a series of interviews announcing the arrival of the new line and the fact that you have resumed your place as the head of the company. And then you have to speak to the people at Red and organize some sort of charitable contribution…"

Brooke sighed as she plopped down onto the sofa, looking up at her mother with a bored expression engraved into her face, knowing that these had _always _been the things that she had hated about running her own company. It had never been the designs or even the business aspect of it that had taught her how to hate _Clothes over Bros_; it had been the publicity and the way that it had always seemed to rule her life. It had been like high school all over again, only ten times worst.

"And though it _literally _kills me to say this," her mother continued, her face scrunched up as though she were in profound pain, "you need to call that redheaded leech and get her to come back to be the face of this company."

Brooke almost choked on air when she realised her mother was talking about _Rachel_.

She blinked, "_what?_"

Victoria winced, looking annoyed with her words. "You were right, she was the best model we had and firing her _was _a mistake. Plus it appears as though she has cleaned up her act, so I doubt that we'll have to pay off the tabloids to keep stories out of the magazine, and we… we should re-hire before someone else does."

Her daughter grinned. Brooke had been meaning to talk to the redhead about returning to the company since they had returned to Tree Hill, but it had never seemed to be the right time, not with how uncertain the future of her company had been. But she trusted Rachel with her life and there was no one else that she would rather have as the face of her company, especially when she thought about how happy this would surely make the redhead.

Her dimples came into view as happiness swelled up inside her heart, "I'll take to her."

Victoria still appeared troubled.

Brooke knew that there had to be _something _else weighing on her mother's mind so she frowned, released a sigh, and dived right in. "Is there anything else."

"Yes," her mother said simply as she stared at her, "you need to pull your head out of your ass and admit to yourself that _this _isn't everything that you want."

"What?"

"You may think that I haven't noticed, but I do know you – I know you because you're my daughter." Victoria sighed as she sat down next to her daughter, frowning at her. "And I know that this company is not the most important thing to you anymore, in truth it never was."

Brooke opened her mouth.

"I'm not saying that you don't love this company, because I know that you do," her mother continued before the former cheer-captain had the chance to interrupt her. "Brooke, you want a family. You want to an epic romance and a love story that will survive the test of time and, take it from me; you are not going to find that by spending your whole life throwing yourself into work."

Brooke sighed, her mother was right.

She _did _want love.

Yet a frown formed on the fashion icon's face as she tried to think of the last time that she had actually went out on a date instead of working. While the hours she worked now were nowhere near as insane as the hours she had been working a couple of years ago before she had returned to Tree Hill, but it had been a while since she'd had a date. The closest thing she had to one in… she didn't even _know _how long were all of the times she had hung out with Julian or one of the other guys, an she now knew that her mother was right. She was never going to find her own Naley-esque romance if she never put herself out there.

But was she ready for that? To put herself out there?

She didn't know.

The last somewhat serious relationship she had been in was all of the months ago when she had briefly dated Julian – and, as of right now, he was still on the other side of the world and she couldn't see them reconciling in _that _way. She just hadn't had the time to look for love since then. She had been far too busy sorting out her life, watching out for Sam, rebuilding her company and figuring out what she _wanted _that she had forgotten what it had been that she had always wanted to begin with – love and a family.

"Victoria…"

"No, for once in your life you are going to listen to what I have to say." Her mother interrupted, sadness seeping into her expression as she looked into the former cheer-captain's eyes, "when I was younger there was a boy who loved me, and I loved him back. But he wasn't from _my _circle of friends and he was different from what my parents expected, so I let him go, and not a day goes by that I don't regret that decision."

Brooke blinked. Her childhood suddenly made much more sense. Even when she had been younger she had been able to see that her parents' marriage hadn't been filled with love, coming across as more of business agreement in her eyes. Richard Davis had been the sort of man that her mother had been expected to marry and, a result, she had let go of the one boy she had ever loved – causing her to live a life of unhappiness.

"I don't regret _you_, but I regret ever marring your father." Victoria added, "And maybe you haven't found that boy yet, but you owe it to yourself _to _find him. You can't just give up on love because there have been a few bumps and bruises along the way because I _do not _want you to become me. You get up and continue on, and when you do find that one? You hold onto him with everything you have and never let go – because god knows that _that _was the biggest mistake of my life."

Brooke frowned, thinking of how helpful this knowledge would have been years ago, "why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Because I have been a terrible mother to you, I turned into the one person I never wanted to become – my _own _mother." The older brunette answered honestly, looking down in shame as she thought about all of the times she had claimed that she would never turn into the horrid woman that Anita Montgomery had been. She sighed, "I have this daughter who is so… strong and bright, kind-hearted, and _so _beautiful but I've nearly broken her with my inability to open my heart."

Brooke swallowed the lump in her throat as her mother finally admitted to all of her misdoings as a mother.

"But I haven't broken her," Victoria continued as genuine smile lit up her face, "she is still as strong and beautiful and kind-hearted as ever. She simply misnamed her company."

Her daughter frowned in confusion, tears swimming in her hazel orbs that she had gotten from her father, remembering all of the times that her mother had used the company's name as a way of talking her out going on dates. The company had always come first in Victoria's eyes – the clothes had _always _come before the bros.

"Because if finding that boy and building a family is what you _truly _want, then that's all that matters." Victoria insisted, "_That _is the most important thing and the clothes can wait."

Her mother had to be drunk or high or _something _because the words that she was saying went against everything that Victoria had ever said in the past, and the fashion icon was having a hard time to decide if it was possible that Victoria had changed so much in just a matter of months. Yet she knew that she _had _seen people change in that amount of time before – sometimes for the worst – but she knew that it was possible. Hell, _she _herself had changed over the last few months – who was to say that Victoria hadn't as well?

Victoria pursed her lips together as her daughter processed her words, reaching into her purse and pulling out the envelope that held the one thing that she needed in order to make peace with Brooke _and _her own mind. It was time for her to wipe the symbolic blood from her hands and make amends – _out damned spot! Out, I say!_

"This is for you," she said as she handed the envelope to Brooke.

Hazel orbs gazed at the older woman in confusion, knowing that it was impossible for Victoria to shock her any more than she already had, "what is it?"

"It's the company. It's all yours; one-hundred percent."

That was all the proof that Brooke needed – her mother _had _to be on crack.

"But… _why_?"

Blue orbs darkened as she thought about the distant memory that she had locked away in her mind, glancing up and locking gazes with the hazel eyes that belonged to her daughter. It was in that moment that she realised that she had was right, wishing that she had been able to come to the simple clarity before now. Maybe if she had realised it sooner things would have been different, maybe then she would have been able to fix things.

"I'd rather have my daughter than a company."

Brooke frowned, "but you _loved _this company."

"Yeah I did, and I was wrong." Victoria sighed as she reached over to pat her daughter's hand. "I should have loved _you _more and the company less," she admitted as she pursed her lips together in thought, "I just didn't know how."

Another sigh of sadness escaped her lips as she thought back to her own childhood, remembering how her mother had never been able to show her any form of affection, a quality that she had unfortunately passed onto Victoria. She had never known _how _to love because over time all of those emotions had been pushed into the back of her mind after years of disuse, and then before she had known what was happening she had been trapped in a loveless marriage and bitter – taking the anger she felt towards how _unfair _the situation had been on her only child. The thought now brought tears to her eyes.

Victoria cleared her throat and stood up to leave, walking briskly past her daughter as the fashion icon remained rooted in the spot, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought over everything he had just learned. In her heart she knew that her mother was being honest this time – there were no lies or deceitful intentions behind Victoria's words, just the bitter truth.

"Mom?" Brooke called out suddenly, her voice breaking as her mother stopped dead in her tracks, turning around slowly to face her daughter. Both confusion and surprise were etched into her face upon hearing the term _'mom.' _She couldn't remember the last time she had heard the former cheer-captain call her that.

"I want you to stay on," her daughter continued, "and run things from New York."

An incredulous expression crossed Victoria's face, "you're _keeping _me?"

"You're good at what you do," she shrugged as she stood up, a hesitant smile on her face as she walked over to her mother. Her voice broke a little more with her next words, the tears she had been holding finally streaming down her cheeks, "and besides… you're my _mom_."

Victoria blinked for a moment before she rushed forward, pulling her daughter into her arms, holding her close to her as she should have done when Brooke had scraped her knee, when she had suffered her first heartbreak, what she should have done whenever her daughter had been in pain. She had already missed _so _much of her daughter's life, but all of that ended today. Brooke was giving her another chance, even though her daughter did look shocked from the sudden display of affection, and Victoria refused to screw up again.

She had never been able to show her daughter that she _did _love her, but maybe she could learn how to with time.

For now though, words would have to do.

"Oh, my daughter, _my _daughter." She murmured in relief as she ran her fingers through Brooke's hair, pulling away from her daughter to up her cheeks brushing away the tears that were still flowing from the hazel orbs. "I love you _so _much, and I am _so _proud of you."

_And believe that dreams come true every day.__  
__Because they do._

Brooke smiled and, suddenly, she felt as though her dream of having a _complete _family was a little closer.

**-x-**

"Yo, Jamie!" Sam called out from her seat at the counter, narrowing her eyes when the little boy failed to look up from his drawing. "_Ja-mie_," she emphasized as she fought the urge to throw something at him when he _finally _glanced up at her with an annoyed expression engraved into his face. "Can you hook my up with a purple crayon, dude?"

Jamie shrugged and pushed the box of crayons towards the teenager.

"Thanks, J Scott."

Brooke smiled at the interaction taking place in front of her as silence descended upon the room once more, a feeling of peace washing over her as she sighed contently, going back to the magazine she had been flipping through. It felt nice to be there with the people that she loved, with nothing being said, the only sound echoing through the room was the sound of the knife hitting the cutting block as the former tutor continued to chop the vegetables.

"Hey, Haley?" Sam interrupted the silence suddenly, sliding the box of crayons back over to Jamie before she focused on his mother, a curious expression strewn over her face as the English teacher glanced up at her. "Before you turned into Tree Hill's resident _Hannah Montana_, you were a total loner in high school, right?"

"_Excuse me_?" Haley yelped in surprise as her eyes went wide, gawking at the teenager in disbelief. "Sam, who told you _that_?"

"Rachel."

Brooke looked up from the magazine she had been reading once again, king her eyebrow as she watched the conversation that her daughter was having with Haley. The former tutor looked as though she was going to die from shock as a result of the unexpected question and the fashion icon had to struggle _not _to laugh – with the way her mouth was opening and closing in shock, her mind scrambling for something to say, Haley resembled a fish. It amused the hell out of her, to say the least.

She shook her head as a scowl worked its way onto her friend's face. She had officially been back in Tree Hill for six months now and her daughter was half way through her sophomore year of high school, something that the younger brunette _swore _was not a big deal, and the fashion icon felt as if they were exactly where they were mean to be. Those thoughts were pushed from her mind though, her hazel orbs locked onto Haley when she snorted, having finally recovered from her shock, and the fashion icon felt a grin tug at her lips as she waited for the former tutor to release a witty comment that would put all others to shame. The mere _anticipation _of it had her heart overflowing with joy – it had been moments such as these that she had missed when she had been in New York.

"Yeah well, I hate to say this, but I doubt that _Rachel _has an accurate recollection of high school." Haley commented with a shrug, pursing her lips together in thought as a serious expression engraved her face. "She spent most of her time hung-over… or hitting on married guys."

Sam rolled her eyes at the teacher. She had heard that story a million times before and she still found it hard to believe that Haley James-Scott – _of all people _– had bitch-slapped someone, especially the fun-loving redhead.

"Whatever," she shrugged as she reached over to retrieve the green crayon, "I think she's cool."

"Me too, Aunt Rachel is awesome." Jamie added seriously from where he was sitting, colouring his picture happily, completely unaware of the look of pure horror that his mother had sent his way – not that he would have understood it anyway. Rachel was his godmother's friend and the two of them lived together, therefore the redhead _had _to be cool.

"Why?" Haley choked out, her brown orbs bulging out of their sockets.

Jamie blinked and looked up at his mother, looking at her oddly as if she had just asked him why the world went 'round, his expression going dead-serious as he explained his previous statement. "Well, Aunt Brooke and Sam are cool, and Aunt Rachel lives with them, so she must be pretty cool too."

It took all of the fashion icon's self-control to _not _burst out laughing when she saw Haley tighten the grip that she had on the knife that was held firmly in her grasp. The former tutor had ceased chopping up the carrots that she had just placed on her chopping block and, from the expression that had etched its way into her features, Brooke had a feeling that her friend would much rather carve up the redheaded model.

But the fact that _Haley's _son loved Rachel? _That _was priceless.

"You heard the kid, Hales, I'm _cool_." Rachel said from where she was standing in the doorway, her usual coy grin strewn across her face, "and I can't help it if all the Scott men seem to love me."

Haley and the fashion icon turned their heads to catch a glimpse of the model as she sauntered into the large kitchen, her ever-present smirk resting on her face as she took a seat on the stool that rested between her best friend and the young Scott. She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly as she stole a piece of celery, grinning as she took a big bite of her, highly aware of the laughter that was spilling from everyone's lips – everyone _but _Haley that was. Things had been a little awkward when she had first returned to Tree Hill, but she had quickly fallen back into the group of friends and they had earned to ignore all of her taunts. Yet she was still able to make the former tutor see red in two seconds flat, something she took advantage of whenever she could.

All of their friends just rolled their eyes though, having learned that Rachel and Haley teasing each other would be a regular occurrence from now on – they _expected _it. It happened every time the two of them were in the same room together, though no one could really call the taunts _mean. _Their fights were filled with annoyed tones and catty remarks, much like the redhead's friendship with Brooke, but it always served to provide entertainment for the group of friends every Friday night.

Every Friday, no exceptions, the whole group went over to Naley's place for dinner and spent the whole evening having fun and catching up – it was a small tradition that they had started up months ago.

"Right, babe?" Rachel questioned as she reached over to ruffle Jamie's hair, a large smile lighting up her face when a chorus of happy laughs escaped his mouth as he nodded his head, the redhead instantly turning her head so she could wiggle her eyebrows at Haley.

"Mhmm," Jamie exclaimed happily as the redhead stopped messing with his hair, his toothy grin etching into his face as the model held out her hand for a high-five, "Of course I love you." He answered as he slammed his palm against hers, shrugging a little before he went back to colouring his drawing of Chester, his simple reason falling from his lips, "You're family."

Haley released a frustrated breath before she turned her head and sent the fashion icon a pointed glare, everything about her expression telling the brunette that Haley could _not _be held responsible for her actions if she just so happened to kill the model in her sleep. Because, though it was more than obvious that the redhead had matured slightly over the years, it seemed as though her tendency to be a smug bitch hadn't died out, nor had her love of annoying the hell out of the former tutor. From what Haley could see, it was just a part of her personality – _oh joy_.

"Fine, the two of you can think she's _'cool' _all you want as long as you both promise not to accept any advice from her – _ever_." Haley commented after a moment of silence, her voice tight as she trained her eyes on her son and Sam, rolling her brown orbs at the thought of where _that _conversation would end up. She frowned, "especially when it comes to life experiences."

"Yet they should accept advice from _you_?" Rachel replied, laughter falling from her lips as she found the comment genuinely funny. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you both married _and _knocked-up before graduation?"

Haley narrowed her brown orbs, her knuckles going white while her grasp on the knife tightened once more. It was so tempting; she could say that the knife had slipped. She could plead insanity; no one would think she was lying.

"Brooke, cover Jamie's ears right _now_." She instructed firmly, waiting until the brunette had successfully covered her son's ears before she continued, a sarcastic smile spreading across her face. "Are you _really _going to try and lecture me on morals, Rachel? At least I was _married _before I lost my virginity!"

"You were _sixteen_, Tutor-Bitch!" Rachel pointed out as she cracked up in laughter; her entire body shaking while she fought hard to cease her laughter long enough to get her comment out, snorting loudly when Haley scowled at her. "You _clearly _waited a long time."

"As _amusing _as this conversation is," Sam interrupted, pausing briefly to wonder how the hell of the crazy people in the small town had ended up being her family, only to send the former tutor an expectant look. "Can we get back to my question? Thank-you. Now, Haley, _please _tell me that you were a hermit in high school!" She pleaded before she gestured to Brooke and the smirking redhead, "or at the very least, tell me that you weren't party girls like Nicole and Paris over here."

"Bite me!" Brooke muttered to her daughter as she removed her hands from her godson's ears, reaching over so she could smack Sam's arm before she looked over at the former tutor, a pout etched into her face. "I was _so _not that bad – I really wasn't."

Haley raised a disbelieving eyebrow before she turned her attention on the teenager, shaking her head as a thoughtful expression formed on her face. "I was nowhere _near _as bad as the two of them. Actually, until my junior year, I spent all of my time at the tutor centre or hanging out with the guys from the river court and Lucas."

Tension spiked in the room, amplifying at the mere mention of his name – of _Lucas' _name. The topic of the brooder and his wife was a sore subject for everyone, especially for the family that he had left behind when the two blondes had skipped town over the summer. Originally it had seemed as though they would be gone for a couple of months, sailing around the world with their daughter and Lucas' mother, but a couple of months ago he had sent a letter to the former tutor, informing her that they were planning on staying in New Zealand with his mom and Andy – that was, whenever they weren't sailing somewhere on the yacht.

No one had heard from them since.

Just as the fashion icon had done, the two of them had run away from their hometown to try and create a life for themselves, but there was one major difference.

No one knew when – or _if _– the two blondes were ever coming back.

Haley cleared her throat, asking a question of her own, "why?"

"Just wondering," Sam shrugged as an unconvincing smirk lit up her face, kinking her eyebrow before she continued, and her brown orbs gazed at Haley. "But, um, if you were practically a loner that means that you didn't go to a lot of dances – right?"

Brooke felt her hazel orbs lock onto the teenager the moment her head snapped around, a fire glimmering in her eyes as her mouth fell open in shock, all the while she glared at Sam. Her daughter was trying to get out of going to the up-and-coming dance at her high school, one that Brooke was hell bent on getting her to attend since she had been asked to go by Jack. _The sneaky little brat!_

"Not really, no." Haley answered honestly, missing the exasperated look on her friend's face, frowning a little when wen she thought of the first dance she had gone to. It had been her _Spring Fling _during her junior year, shortly after she had married the famed number twenty-three, and the two of them had gone together… after she had arrived late because she had been recording with Chris Keller. Her lips pursed together in thought.

Sam kinked her eyebrow, "so you would say that dances aren't…"

"Samantha! You _will _be going to this dance." Brooke scowled as a growl emitted from deep in her throat, sending her famous glare in the teenager's direction. "You may not see it now, but those dances are a part of growing up and I _refuse _to let you miss out on that," a smirk engraved into her face, "and Jack asked so you to so you're _damn _well going to go."

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie said smugly at the same time his mother scolded the fashion icon by shouting, "Brooke Davis!""

"Yeah, yeah, yeah – no swearing policy." Brooke muttered as she reached into her purse and handed the former tutor a one-dollar bill, scowling when Haley smiled smugly before she skipped over to drop the money into the jar that rested on the counter. Her hazel orbs narrowed at the sight of the jar, huffing slightly. Whenever someone swore in front of Jamie and _he _heard it, they had to give up a dollar bill as toll and it went towards Jamie's education.

Haley was under the impression that the fashion icon would end up paying for her son's education all on her own.

_Sometimes happiness doesn't come from money or fame or power…_

Brooke blinked away those thoughts and grinned over at her daughter, "and Sam? You are _still _going."

"Brooke," Haley interrupted when she saw the out-spoken teenager open her mouth, her eyes going wide as she looked over at her friend, searching her mind for a new topic. "Um, have you talked to Julian lately?"

Sam sighed at the mention of the producer. He had been gone a couple of months and she _knew _that she shouldn't complain, he was in her life and she thought of him as a sort-of father even though he had never gotten back together with the Brooke. Yet the two footnotes of the _Pucas _love triangle were still single, and Julian made a trip to the small town whenever he got time off, and he had told Sam that he and the fashion icon hadn't ruled out the idea of them getting back together someday. At the same time though, their lives had them in different places and they had decided to remain just friends, that way there wouldn't be any heartbreak or resentment if one of them fell in love.

"He called the other night and guess what, buddy?" Brooke grinned as she leaned over to nudge her godson, "he said that everything in on schedule for the movie and, as of right now, he will definitely be able to make it to your birthday party."

Jamie nodded and his whole face lit up at the news, glad to know that Julian would be able to make it to his seventh birthday party. He had mentioned his birthday in passing the last time the producer had been in town while the two of them had been down on the baseball field, practicing his swing while his godmother and Rachel cheered them on like a cheerleaders from the bleachers, and he had asked Julian if he would be there. Surprise had etched onto his face at his first, but the producer had then nodded and promised he would be there if he wasn't working before he pulled the young Scott's hat down over his eyes.

Haley smiled, "that's really great."

"Yep," Rachel nodded in agreement, her words coming out as a soft murmur as she thought back to the producer she had met a couple of months ago. The two of them currently had a 'burn' game going on, five points for herself and four points for Julian, and it would be a lie if the redhead said that she hadn't taken an instant liking to the man who had a sarcastic wit to rival her own. Plus there was the illegal grin that her best friend had warned her of, she could _definitely _see why he was such a ladies' man.

Silence once again descended upon the room and the former tutor dumped the chopped up carrots into a dish, adding some cinnamon to them before she placed them in the oven, only to then move to the fridge while Brooke looked around the room curiously. Her lips pulled down into a thoughtful frown, her eyebrows crumpling together in the middle of her forehead as she searched the room for the rest of their group.

"When is everyone else getting here, Teacher-Mom?" She questioned as she tilted her head to the side in confusion, "I know that Millie is waiting for Mouth to get off work but…"

"Skills said that he would be down at the river court with Junk and Fergie, but the smell of food will lead them here sooner or later, and Quinn went off with her camera so god only knows where she went to." Haley shrugged with a frown, her brown orbs glancing up at the clock. "And Nathan should be home soon," her friend sent her a curious glance, "he had an interview earlier but he said that it would be wrapped up around five."

Brooke nodded with a grin. Nathan's dream for playing in the NBA had come true almost a year ago when he had been signed to the Charlotte Bobcats and he was still going strong, her _Naley _was still going strong – though the raven-haired athlete had to spend half of the year on the road, having regular check-ups on his back every other month. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she remembered the fear that she had felt, remembering how she had been afraid that her favourite married couple would pack up and move to Charlotte since Nathan spent half of the year on the roads, but they hadn't.

Tree Hill was _home _and the two them had claimed that they did not want Jamie, or any future Naley-babies, to be raised anywhere else.

"Actually, he managed to convince Clay to tag along this time." Haley continued with a smile at the thought of her husband's agent.

Clay Evans – he was the sports agent that represented her husband and, due to the charismatic personality that he possessed, he had quickly become a close friend to Nathan and his family. And, to be honest, it had been a friendship that the former tutor had been happy for – not _only _because Clay was a good guy, but because it had hit Nathan hard when his brother had up and left town without warning. She had no idea if it was right or wrong, but it was almost as if Clay had filled that void somehow.

"Right, am I supposed to believe that Hotshot willingly got this _fictitious _Clay to tag along?" Brooke snorted as she kinked an eyebrow, laughter fall from her lips when the former tutor rolled her eyes and sent the brunette an exasperated scowl. "What, Haley? What am I supposed to think? I've been back in Tree Hill for like, five months and I _still _haven't met the guy!"

"Brooke," the teacher groaned, "Clay exists!"

"Yeah?" Brooke scoffed as she rolled her eyes, reaching into her purse to grab another dollar bill before she held it out to a confused Haley, her lips lifting up into a smirk. "Well, I call _bullshit_."

Rachel and Sam cracked up laughing.

Jamie grinned and took the money, running over to put the money in the jar.

And Haley's eyes went wide as a strangled _"Brooke Penelope Davis!" _fell from her lips.

"Haley _Bob _James-Scott! I thought we had agreed to **never **use the middle names? _Hmmm?_" The fashion icon mimicked her while own eyes going wide, winking at her annoyed friend. "And, until I meet him, I say that Nate invented this Clay dude so it actually looks like he has friends."

Loud, sarcastic laughter echoed through the room as Nathan walked into the room, his blue orbs narrowed at the brunette. "You crack me, Davis." He muttered as he walked into the kitchen, kissing his wife on the cheek and ruffling his son's hair before he crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at Brooke. "Now, tell me, why are _we _friends?"

"Well, we're friends for _a lot _of reasons, Hotshot." Brooke beamed sarcastically as her two dimples poked out in her cheeks, her eyebrows wiggling at the athlete that she had known since childhood. "But if you really need me to name a few – I'm _awesome_, you _love _me, and then there's the fact that you barely have any friends as it is, so you cannot afford to lose any."

Suddenly another laugh filled the room and the fashion icon turned her head, taking in the sight of the muscular man with bright blue eyes and a boyish grin, blinking repeatedly before she grinned at him.

"Ah, and _you _must be that dream man that I ordered from _Cosmo _last night." Brooke smiled as she offered him a small wave, kinking her eyebrow, "I'm Brooke."

He nodded in greeting, "Clay."

"And I don't need to invent friends, Brooke." Nathan muttered as he looked at his agent with a small grin on his face, knowing Clay would have his back, "tell her, man."

"Ahhh, sorry." Clay trailed off as he walked over to take a seat on one of the free stools, sending the fashion icon a wink before he glanced up at the athlete, offering him a million-dollar grin. "But I'm going to have to agree with Dimples on this one, man."

Brooke kinked her signature eyebrow even higher at the nickname, her grin only widening when she saw the expression that Nathan had on his face.

"Clay Evans," she began as she stood up, walking over to him and looping an arm around his shoulders, "I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."

Nathan scowled at the two of them, shaking his head in annoyance before he muttered something that sounded a lot like '_traitor.'_

**-x-**

"Jamie, would you be careful, _please_?" Haley scolded from where she was stretched out on one of the lawn chairs, "living with your father is going to cause me to go prematurely grey as it is – _don't _add to the stress!"

Brooke glanced over at the former tutor with a dimpled grin etched into her face, kinking one of her eyebrows, knowing in her heart that it would be pointless for her to tell Haley to leave the boy be. Her friend was as paranoid as a mother could be and, just because Jamie was getting older, today being his seventh birthday, that did _not _mean that Haley would learn how to chill out any time soon. The fashion icon knew that – _everyone _knew that.

"_Momma!_" Jamie whined from across the yard as a pout formed on his face, looking over at his mother while he ignored the rest of the children that were running around him, his blue orbs glancing at the pool longingly. All he wanted was to jump in…

"James Lucas Scott!"

"Fine," Jamie muttered in annoyance as he rolled his blue orbs, searching the crowd before a toothy grin lit up her face when he found the person that he had been looking for. "Sam, can you go swimming with me?" He called out as he ran over to the teenager, "Momma doesn't want to go prematurely grey."

Sam sent the teacher an amused grin before she got up from where she had been sitting. She chased after the boy as laughter continued to fall from his lips as she caught up to him, pushing him into the pool the moment he was beside it, only to jump in after him a second later to avoid being scolded. Then the two of them began splashing each other the moment they surfaced, a sight bringing a smile to the fashion icon's face.

"So…" Brooke began as she turned her head to look at her friend, raspy laughter falling from her red lips when she saw the horror-filled expression that had adorned Haley's face while her brown orbs watched her son worriedly. "Oh I wish I had a camera," she chuckled, "this would _so _be one for the scrapbooks."

"Don't even laugh, Tigger." Haley mumbled as she leaned back in her chair, her worried frown never leaving her face as she continued to watch her son, a sigh falling from her lips several moments later as she glanced over at the brunette. "I know that you have Sam, but you just wait until you have a _baby_. Knowing you, the kid will be four months old before they even leave the house and get exposed to some germs.

The fashion icon merely shrugged and did not even bother to _try _to dispute Haley's words.

Haley was rarely wrong.

And Brooke loved her beloved Tutor-Girl more than she had ever been able to tell the other woman. The two of them had grown close during their senior year of high school and their friendship had only grown in strength since the brunette had returned to their hometown, and that was saying something. Yet it hadn't been _just _her bond with Haley that had grown lately, all of the bonds that she held with her friends had grown over the past year.

Though she and Nathan had known each other their whole lives, their friendship had grown so much over the past year that she considered him more of a brother than a friend, because he _definitely _had the overprotective role down pat. Then there was her friendship with the redhead, one that had been easier to repair than the fashion icon had thought it would be, and then there was he beloved Mouth and Mille – two people who were right up there with Naley on her list of favourite couples.

She had even grown closer to the rest of the guys from the river court lately.

Brooke allowed a small smile at the thought. Though their circle of friends had been broken after the two blondes had decided to flee town, something that had hurt her more than she wanted to acknowledge, all of the ties that they held with each other had only been made stronger as a result. They were all there for each other when they needed them, proving that the brunette had been right after they had all graduated – they _would _be friends forever.

"So, how long is Julian in town this time?" Haley questioned as she glanced over to where the producer was sitting on the edge of the pol, his feet dipped into the water while he chatted with the bane of her existence, someone who was also known as _Rachel Gatina_.

"He hasn't said anything about it yet…" the fashion icon said in response, sighing slightly as her hazel orbs drifted over to where Julian was chatting happily with the model.

Yet she had been thrilled that the producer had been able to keep his promise to be in town for her godson's birthday, rolling her eyes when she thought of the night before when he had shown up at her beach house the night before with three pizzas and enough beer for the two of them, plus an amused Rachel, all the while holding a case of root beer for the teenager. It had been a sweet gesture but it still wasn't the same, Brooke needed the producer in her life, even it wasn't in the romantic sense.

The two of them had grown closer over the past year, but his life was wherever his work brought him – something that she both knew and accepted, but knowing it never made it any easier when he had to leave again. She had goodbyes more than anything, mostly because it reminded her that that person would be gone for a while, and that made her feel lonely. And she _hated _being alone – not that she truly was alone. She had a bigger family than she had ever hoped for.

"Brooke Davis, would you look at yourself?" Haley laughed, shaking her head at the brunette's expression. "Just the _thought _of him leaving town again makes you all pouty and pensive – can't _Old School _Brooke come out and play for a while? I like her cheery attitude a lot better."

The fashion icon aimed a scowl at the teacher, unable to believe that she was mocking her. "Oh, shut up, Tutor-Bitch!"

Haley blinked, and then blinked once more in surprise, turning her head so she could look at her friend – unable to believe that Brooke had used the nickname that the redhead had given her.

Brooke laughed and stuck her tongue out in the former tutor's direction before she took advantage of the fact that Haley was surprised, immediately jumping up from her own lawn chair, making a run for it as laughter fell from her lips. She could hear Haley yelling out child-friendly threats as she made her way across the yard, her two dimples coming into view as her hazel orbs searched for someone she could talk to now that she was officially on Haley's hit list.

She could see Quinn and Skills running around the yard with several of the kids that were there for Jamie's birthday party, having a full-fledged water fight with super soakers, grinning when she saw Junk and Fergie pop up behind them, dumping a bucket of water over both of their heads. Then, in the corner of her eyes, she could see Mouth and Millie floating on their backs in the pool, holding hands and looking completely cheesy – which she loved about them. Even their names sounded cute together; Mouth and Millie.

Her hazel orbs then landed on Nathan and Clay who were manning the grill, all the while bickering heatedly about something that the fashion icon figured was _probably _some sports-related thing that she had _no _idea about, so wiggling her way into that conversation wouldn't be any fun. Yet the two friends felt her gaze and stopped bickering long enough to nod at her in acknowledgement, lightening the brunette's spirits as she sent Nathan a warm smile before she sent the agent a flirty wink.

Clay immediately returned it with one of his own, only to get smacked on the back of the head by Nathan, causing the fashion icon to laugh.

"Hey," she greeted as she walked over to where Julian was still sitting, plopping down beside him before she lowered her feet into the cool water. Her signature eyebrow kinked and her hazel orbs searched for the missing redhead, pursing her lips together, "where'd Rachel go?"

Julian sighed in mock-sadness, "and for a moment I thought you actually came over here to talk to _me_."

"Maybe I _did _come over here to talk to you." Brooke smirked as she leaned closer to him, deciding to tease him as she spoke in a husky voice, "actually, maybe I came over here to _seduce _you and I wanted to make sure that I didn't have to worry about the redheaded harlot coming back and interrupting us."

"Brooke Davis! I know that I just so happen to be the _epitome _of hotness in this summer heat, but this is a birthday party – a seven year old boy'sbirthday party at that!" Julian reprimanded as a laugh escaped his lips, sending her one of his illegal grins as he looked at her, leaning in as if what he was about to tell her was some sort of secret. "And we have to keep all of our behaviour PG; otherwise I'm pretty sure Momma-Scott will have a coronary."

She searched the crowd for the woman in question, snorting when she found her, noting that Haley had made her way over to her husband and the two of them were now making out like a couple of teenagers – something that caused Clay to chug the rest of his beer, loudly exclaiming, "yeah, I would love another beer! You want one, man?"

"Like Hales and Nate would be able to say anything," Brooke commented easily.

And she knew that she _would _relentlessly tease the couple for it later, but even so, the brunette was happy for her dearly loved Naley. They had always been the couple that she had been betting on and, though they'd had their rough patches over the years, she found that she could not fault them for it. It had been expected. Every couple experienced highs and lows, even the seemingly perfect couple she could see making-out, but the fact that they had always been able to overcome those obstacles had been what made her believe in them. Nathan and Haley were the ones that made her believe in _love_.

Just as she had talked about at their wedding reception during her Maid of Honour speech, their love had not altered over the years and it had remained the same. No matter how hard things had gotten and regardless of how much their lives had changed since they had exchanged those vows, Nathan and Haley were still as in love now s they had been when they had been sixteen. To her, _that _was an example of true love always – always and forever – _epic_.

"They really do have something special." Julian agreed as he smiled over at the couple that he was _slowly _becoming friends with.

He could remember the first time he had been in Tree Hill, remembering how the couple had avoided him like the plague because Lucas had been hell bent on doing everything in his power to keep the producer away from his family. But now the couple known as Naley could no longer justify giving him the cold shoulder because it was more than obvious that he was no longer visiting the small town a way of screwing the brooder over or winning back Peyton, not since the two of them had left town a year ago.

And since then, Nathan and Haley were warming up to him. At first it had been because they had seen how close he had been to the fashion icon, and then it had been because they had seen how fond their son was of the producer and they refused to ruin that for the young Scott, and then there was the fact that he was a likeable guy once you got past his cocky attitude. Yet Julian had no idea how he had become friends to all of the people in the small town, yet he was happy for it.

Brooke nodded. "Yeah, they do."

She released a deep breath as a content smiled etched into her face, her hazel-green eyes lighting up at the idea of having that special kind of love for herself. There had been a time – a long time ago – where she had thought she had found that love. She had once thought she had found _her _always and forever, but her hope wasn't gone. Naley gave her hope and ever since she had shared that talk with her mother months ago, she had been going on a couple of dates, but she was really just happy by surrounding herself with her friends and living a good life – all the while keeping the hope.

… _Sometimes happiness comes from good friends and family, and from the quiet nobility of leading a good life._

"You think we'll find that love someday?" She asked suddenly, locking gazes with the producer.

Julian cleared his throat, "you know, um, I have to go… over there."

Brooke frowned upon hearing his words, a confused expression adoring her face when she looked at him as though he had grown an extra head, her eyes going wide when she saw the glimmer in his eyes. She pursed her lips together, opening her mouth, only to close it again as she scolded herself for not noticing the glimmer that his brown orbs held. While she had no idea if it was _love_, there was definitely something in her eyes and her hazel orbs widened – who had managed to gain the affection of the producer? Someone he had met while he had been away? Someone he had met over the two weeks he had been in Tree Hill? Her?

"Julian…" she trailed off as she kinked an eyebrow.

His illegal grin crossed his face once more as he looked at her carefully, cupping the side of her face before he leaned in and kissed her forehead, shrugging a little before he pulled his feet out of the pool and stood up. "Sorry, Penny D, but I'm going to keep this one to myself for a little while longer." He said as he continued to gaze into her eyes, "I don't want to jinx it – but the moment I figure it out, I'll let you know."

Brooke watched as he sent her a wink and walked away, laughter falling from his lips as she struggled to pull her feet out of the water so she could catch up with him, knowing that there was no way that she was going to let him get away _that _easily. "Julian," she warned as she fought the urge to _not _run along the edge of the pool, knowing that the former tutor would kill her if the children saw _her _doing it and then decided to do it herself.

He never stopped.

"Julian Andrew Baker!" She called out once again, her lips pursed together in annoyance as the producer continued to walk away from her, jumping back in surprise when Clay suddenly stepped out in front of her to block her path. Her hazel orbs narrowed as Julian disappeared into the crowd of people, opting to scowl at the smug agent that stood in front of her, placing her hands on her hips while her teeth clenched together. _She wanted answers, damn it!_

"Hey, Dimples."

Annoyance engraved into her features as she gestured for him to move. "Clay, believe me when I say that I mean this in the _nicest _way possible, but if you do not move right now I will rip your arm from its socket and beat you with it."

Clay grinned at her. "What happened to flirty, _nice _Brooke?"

"Her mission to kick the producer's ass got interrupted and, if a certain agent is careful, she's gonna settle with kicking _his _ass." Brooke warned seriously, rolling her eyes, not at all in the mood to take part in the flirty-yet-sarcastic banter that the two of them had been taking part in for the past six months.

"Hmmm," Clay said as he tapped his chin in contemplation before he smirked at her, opting for wiggling his eyebrows at her before he went back to teasing her. "Well, personally, I would much rather if you _kissed _my ass – whether it is figurative or literal."

Her mouth opened to retort something back until her lips twisted into a devious smirk, moving closer to him as she placed her palms on his bare chest. "Hmmm, I _do _like that plan," she hoaxed as she winked up at him, moving her face closer to his. Almost immediately his face was engraved by confusion until his boyish grin lit up his face, the brunette grinning before she gave him a gentle shove, watching happily as he fell backwards into the pool.

"You – _Dimples_!" He exclaimed immediately as he surfaced for air, his eyes scrunched together in pain because of the burn from the chlorine, coughing as he tried to get the water out of his lung. He was faintly aware of the children laughing at him as he scowled up at the laughing brunette, a dead-serious expression on his face as he declared, "this means _war_."

"Oh bring it on, Evans!" Brooke taunted as she smirked down at him, a frown crossing her face when as she watched as the agent moved over to the edge of the pool, his scowl instantly turning into a smirk as he reached up to grab by the legs. "Clay! Don't you even dare, this shirt is dry-cleaner only and – _sonuva!_" She squealed before her sentence ending abruptly as he dragged her down into the water with him.

Her head appeared above water seconds later, scowling a the agent as her wet hair stuck to her face and her red lips tilted down into a frown, mentally cursing the man who was smirking back at her with amusement shining in his blue orbs. Clay then had the nerve to wiggle his eyebrows at her once more and the brunette sighed miserably, ignoring all of the laughter around her as she pouted. That _so _hadn't turned out the way she had planned.

"I hate you," she muttered, "and I hope Nate kicks your ass."

"Clayton!"

Brooke allowed for her own smirk to spread across her face upon hearing Nathan's voice, her head turning in his direction, practically swooning when she saw him walking towards them. She _knew _that he was going to rip his agent a new one of his latest stunt. Nathan had always been protective of her, something that had only increased over the past year, and the athlete would surely take her side in the matter. She could have hurt herself as she fell in the water, and it would have been all Clay's fault.

Sure, lately the athlete had been continuously accusing her of corrupting his son, but she was his friend – she was like a sister to hi,

Nathan always had her back.

"Seriously, man, you couldn't wait until I _at least _had the camera?" Nathan grumbled as he walked up to the edge of the pool, a grin lighting up his face as he held Haley's camera in his hands, "this is _priceless_."

She felt her eyes narrowed as the flash went off, effectively capturing the image of a proud looking Clay who was floating beside the fashion icon as she scowled up at the camera. She _would _get a hold of that camera later on and, when she did, she would be deleting that picture. And then she would kick Clay's ass, and then she would kick Nathan's.

"Cheer up, Dimples." Clay laughed as he swam past her, happy laughter falling from his lips when Brooke redirected her glare in his direction, no hints of amusement on her face. "You look good wet," he shrugged when she kinked her eyebrow at him.

Brooke rolled her eyes, hearing the obvious innuendo in his words as she mumbled under her breath, "shut up."

His grin widened as he puckered his lips at her, "you _love _me."

She brushed her hair out of her face, shaking her head, "no I don't."

"Yes you do. You want to _love _me, you want to _marry _me," he taunted he continued to swim around her, "you want to have _babies _with me – and, just so you know, I am more than happy with sneaking off and rehearsing for that right now."

The intensity of her glare increased. "Shut up."

**-x-**

Her entire body shivered as she buried her toes in the cool sand as a strong gust of wind hit her petite frame, sending her hair flying in every direction. Months had passed since her godson's birthday and they were now in the middle of fall, the temperature being lower than it usually was at that time of year, but she did not feel the need to go inside to get a jacket. There had always been something about the beach that she had found comforting and the chilly breeze was only adding to the serene feeling that had engulfed her entire being. Hazel orbs closed in contentment as a ghost of a smile crossed her face, only for her heart to twinge a little when she heard the squeals of laughter that were coming from the beach house – laughter that she was missing out on.

She wanted nothing more than to travel back up to her beach house and relish in the happiness that she felt whenever she was around her family, but her mind was reeling and she needed a couple of minutes of peace. Her mind screamed at her though, the words that her therapist had spoken to her a couple of years ago ringing though her mind - _The question is, Brooke – why are you so insistent on going through life alone?_

Her hazel orbs fluttered open and her thoughtful gaze rested on the water, watching the waves glide over the sound, only to go back to their dark depths. It had been over two years since her attack and those words still fluttered into her mind every now and then, sometimes leaving her gasping for air if she delved into their meaning, but she found that she could push them away if she remembered the truth that she _wasn't _alone.

There was nothing she hated more than being alone, but she _was _not going through her life alone anymore.

She had managed to pick up the pieces of her life, making herself happier than she could remember being.

She was anything but alone – she had found _love_.

Brooke felt her lips quirk up into a genuine smile at the thought of her boyfriend. They had only been dating for a couple of months, yet all she could think about was how all of her friends had told her that she would open her heart eventually and find love again, and she was happy that they had been right. She hadn't found true love since she had been with the brooder, even though she _had _loved Chase, but it hadn't been the same. Not that the love that swelled up in her heart _now _was the same love she had felt for the brooder back in high school – the love that she felt now was so much stronger than the love that she had felt for Lucas that it scared the _hell _out of her.

It had been her daughter that had first brought it to her attention that she had fallen for him without even realising it, and Sam had cracked up laughing at the look of pure bewilderment that had etched into her face. It had been mere weeks after Jamie's birthday party and it had felt like a bitch slap to the face when her eyes had been opened to the truth. Honestly, she could hardly believe that she hadn't realised how she had felt on her own. Everything had played out like a romantic comedy with her starring as the lead actress who had just realised who she had been in love with all along. She had been the poster child for mad crushed out without even realising it.

Yet none of that mattered to her, all that she could remember when she thought about him was the surge of happiness that she felt whenever he was with her.

His work brought him all over god's creation though, but the moments that they were together made it all worth it.

There was no denying that she had fallen in love.

So why was she sitting on the beach _alone_?

There was a part of her that knew it was just her mind overanalyzing again, she knew that her decision to sit in solitude didn't have to mean anything, but in her heart she knew that it did mean something. She had seen the signs many times in the past and she knew what she was doing – she was running away and _hiding_. Yet she had no idea what she was hiding from, except maybe the voice in the back of her mind that seemed to whisper when she was least expecting it. The little voice kept telling her that everything was going a little too perfectly, the one that told her that her life was _one _event from falling down around her.

Her heart insisted that she was being ridiculous, though. Just because her life had been going great for – well, a long time – that did not mean that the other shoe was about to drop. _That _was why she had stepped out for a moment, opting for staring at the crashing waves instead of having fun with her family, she was hoping to clear her mind from all of the worries that her mind held.

"Are you _trying _to catch a cold?" Nathan questioned, narrowing his blue orbs as he stood beside the brunette, smiling slightly when she glanced up and shook her head.

"Nah, just taking a moment to... just _think_." Brooke answered honestly as she stared into his eyes for several more seconds before her gaze drifted out to the water once again, her thoughtful expression returning to her face.

"Thinking, huh? Well, I know you brain must be aching then." Nathan teased lightly as he plopped down beside in her the sand, shrugging his jacket off his shoulders, draping it across her body and it was only when her lips tilted up into a grateful smile that he realised a satisfied sigh. He had been half expected the brunette to protest against the action, claiming that she wasn't cold even though he could see her shivering, and he was happy that she hadn't.

"Huh," she scoffed slightly, "and tell my why my brain _must _be aching, Hotshot?"

He felt his lips quirk up into his signature smirk, "Years of disuse."

Brooke scowled and reached over to smack his arm lightly, rolling her hazel orbs when he laughed and puckered his lips at her, singing, "You know you _love _me."

She shook her head in amusement at his antics, smiling at the undeniable truth that his words had held. Nathan knew her better than any other person, except maybe the slutty redhead, and she _did _love him – he was her big brother in all ways that mattered. He would always have her back and she would always have his back, as well. The bond that existed between the two of them would never be damaged; it could only be made stronger.

"Brooke, what is going on with you?" Nathan asked suddenly as the playful atmosphere dissipated, his expression turning serious as he turned his head so he could look at her. "You've barely said anything all night, which I'll admit is a miracle all in its own…"

"You are _such _an ass sometimes, ya know that?" Brooke squealed as she slapped him once again, her smile vanishing from her face when he sent her a pointed look, everything about his expression telling her that no amount of joking would sway the athlete from his question. He wanted to know why she was out on the beach, sitting alone, and he would _not _rest until he got his answer.

Brooke sighed, accepting the fact that she would have to answer, "What do you want me to saw, Nate?"

He pursed his lips together, "the truth would be nice."

She bobbed her head up and down, glancing out at the water once again, getting her thoughts together before she answered his question. "It's just, I've been thinking about my life and everything that has happened over the past couple of years, and I don't know… things have been _so _great lately." Her gaze fell down into her lap as she voiced her inner most thoughts, "it's almost _too _good to be true."

"Do I have to kick his ass?" Nathan frowned in thought, his eyes narrowing slightly, cracking his knuckles as he thought of her boyfriend. If he was responsible for her drawing away from the people that cared about her, he would kick his ass, regardless of how pissed Brooke and his wife would be with him afterwards.

"No, it's nothing that _he's _done." Brooke chuckled as she reached out to grasp his hand, running her fingers over his knuckles until he unclenched his fist, frowning slightly as she exhaled. "It's just… _everything_."

"Okay, so these heart-to-heart moments are usually done by Hales, but you listen to me and you better listen well." He ordered, his eyebrows crumpling together in the middle of his forehead as he squeezed her hand tightly. "Life is _good_. There has been no drama, except for the shit that Rachel tries to stir up every now and again," they both chuckled at that, "and _you_, Brooke Davis, are going to get everything you've ever wanted."

Brooke nodded.

"_But _for that to happen?" Nathan continued with a sigh, "You have to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop."

_Believe that dreams come true every day.  
Because they do._

"Yeah," the brunette sighed, "I know."

"Good," Nathan grinned upon hearing the sincerity in her voice. "That means my mission is accomplished, so how about we go back inside before my wife comes out and starts scolding us like a couple of kids?"

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes," Brooke promised as the athlete stood up scowled at her, laughing lightly as she pushed his leg, "I promise."

"Well, if you don't go inside with me _now_, then I'm gonna stay right here until you do." He said childishly, crossing his arms over his chest, determination in his eyes.

"Nathan, you're being _so _childish!" Brooke whined, rolling her eyes in surrender as she held out her hands and wiggled her fingers, squealing when he rolled her eyes when he pulled her to her feet. She leaned up to kiss his cheeks, beaming, "thanks."

He grinned when she noticed she was back to her old self, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes as he spoke to her slowly, "I wouldn't thank me _yet_."

Brooke narrowed her eyes in warning, "Nathan…"

"You said I was being _'childish'_?" Nathan grinned as he flew forward, grabbing a hold of the fashion icon before she could run away, holding her firmly in a headlock as he dragged her towards the water, the amused question falling from his lips, "how is _this _for being childish?"

"Nathan Royal Scott, don't you freaking dare." Brooke shrieked as she struggled against his hold, knowing that it was pointless, another squeal escaping her lips when the cold water hit her toes. "I swear to _god_, I'll tell Haley and then I am going to kick your…"

All of her words died on her lips though when he heaved her over his shoulders and ran out into deeper water, allowing for his body to fall into the cold abyss when they were out deep enough, grinning as he surfaced first. Nathan laughed to kill himself when the brunette came up for air, scowling at him, annoyance seeping in her expression.

"Why do guys in Tree Hill keep throwing me in the water?" Brooke demanded, yelling at no one in particular, pouting childishly as her entire body shivered.

He opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a loud squeal of delight.

"This is _so _cool!" Jamie shouted excitedly as he stood at the edge of the water, his eyes lighting up before he took off running towards his father and godmother.

"James Lucas Scott, get back on the beach or…" the athlete began to scold, only to pause when the fashion icon splashed water in his face, his son immediately copying her actions. Blue orbs lit sparkled at the challenge as he took off running after the two culprits, "I see how it is!"

"Jamie, run!" Brooke laughed as the two of them took off running, neither of their short legs any match for Nathan's long legs.

"Jamie," Haley suddenly called out from inside the house, "I thought I told you to go get them?"

Yet the former tutor's question was only met by silence, causing her to walk out the back door to see what was keeping them.

"Jamie," Haley called out again as she stood on the back porch, pausing at the sight of the fashion icon running around in the water with Jamie and Nathan, her eyes going wide as she went into mother-mode. "_James Lucas Scott! _Get out of that water right now before you get sick – Nathan and Brooke, that goes for you too because I will _not _have the two of you being bad influences on my son!"

Yet the party of three ignored her and continued to run around in the water while Haley released a groan of annoyance, shaking her head, only to squeal in surprise when Rachel slapped her ass and ran past her. "Lighten up, Tutor-Bitch!" The redhead laughed, Sam joining in on her laughter as the two of them ran past the former tutor, running into the water to join in with the fun.

Haley sighed and turned around when she saw the fashion icon's boyfriend in the corner of her eyes, arching an eyebrow at him, "you _do _know your girlfriend is a nut, right?"

"Yeah," he nodded as a loving grin lit up his face, his eyes glancing past the teacher, watching as his girlfriend was scooped up into Nathan's arms before he threw her into the water again. His heart swelled up with love when he heard his musical laugh, knowing in his heart that he was going to marry her someday. They had only been dating a couple of months, but he already knew that he would spend the rest of his life with her – that was why he had went looking for rings the last week when he had accompanied her to New York for her fashion show.

Of course, the fashion icon didn't know about the engagement ring that in the beach house, hidden carefully in one of his drawers.

His mind had told him that he was buying it too soon, that he was rushing it, but he hadn't been able to resist when he had found the perfect one. The ring was just right, not simple but not over the top, and he could picture her wearing it from the moment he had laid eyes on it. It was white gold with a round sapphire in the middle with several diamonds on each side, and it was perfect for her.

He just had to work up the nerve to ask her, because the decision to marry her would be the moment that would define the rest of his life.

**-x-**

"You _do _know that I can hang-up on you, right?" Brooke muttered in annoyance as she sunk down further into the bathtub, cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she listened to the redhead chat happily from the other end of the line.

"You _could_, but we both know you won't." Rachel laughed through the phone.

Hazel orbs rolled in annoyance as she heard the truth in her friend's comment. She had originally planned on spending the night with her daughter while her boyfriend was out of town on business, spending the night pigging out on pizza while watching some cheesy movie, but the teenager had called her over an hour ago _begging _to stay over at Naley's house so she could play the new Rockband with Jamie and she had been unable to say no.

All of which left her with no plans for the night, which was why she had opted for getting in a hot bath while she called the model. Rachel had been in LA for most of the month and had a photo-shoot tomorrow, but the fashion icon was happy that she had been able to catch her friend before she went out. She had grown used to having the redhead around and it had been weird the first couple of days she had been gone – she had even missed having the redhead tell her she had a fat ass and mock her for practically being all _Joanie loves Chachi _with her boyfriend.

"Brooke Penelope Davis," the redhead laughed suddenly as she took in her friend's silence, "you are _not _moping because he's out of town! You're supposed to be living it up and enjoying the fact that the kid is gone for the night, as well as the boy toy, which means that you can go out and have fun! Because it is just pathetic that you are at home…"

"Yeah, well, I'm hanging up now. Talk to you tomorrow, bitch."

She felt her dimples indent her cheeks as she hung-up the phone before she unplugged the drain, climbing out of the tub as she wrapped a fluffy towel around her body, walking out into her room to pull on some pyjamas. There was no doubt in her mind that the redhead was in LA laughing at her reaction to the taunts, but Brooke was determined to push that from her mind. Instead she would go downstairs, get some butter pecan ice cream, and then she would curl up on the couch and watch the movie that she had planned on watching with Sam.

Brooke ran a brush through her hair before she pulled her brown locks up into a ponytail, walking out of her room clad in her boyfriend's tee-shirt and a pair of short shorts, practically skipping down the stairs as she prepared to walk into the kitchen to retrieve her junk food. Yet her movements paused as her hazel orbs locked onto the sight in her kitchen – there were candles lighting up the dim room, with two place settings of Chinese laid out on the counter, but what surprised her the most was the sight of her boyfriend in the middle of the kitchen pulling out of a couple of wine glasses.

"I thought you weren't getting home 'til next week." She stated simply as she walked down the last couple of steps, watching as he placed the glasses down on the counter before he walked to meet her, his hands immediately resting on her hips as he leaned his forehead against hers. Brooke kinked an eyebrow at him as she draped her arms around his neck, kissing him quickly before she scowled at him, "lying to your girlfriend is either really brave or really stupid – depending on the reason."

He chuckled, "and if I said I just wanted to surprise you?"

"It depends on if there's an extra fortune cookie over there for me."

"Then I'm in luck," he grinned as he kissed her lips once again before he took a hold of her hand as he led her over to the counter where they usually opted for eating when it was just the two of them, "although you should have _known_ there was – I know what my baby likes."

The fashion icon grinned as she sat down on one of the stools, watching as he moved around her kitchen effortlessly, filling up the two wine glasses before he distributed the containers of food – passing her sweet and sour pork, fried rice and chow mein before he sat down with his egg rolls, white rice and mandarin chicken. The two of them instantly fell into a comfortable silence as they dug into the meal.

"How were things while I was away?" He asked eventually as he took a sip of his wine, enjoying her presence as he looked up at her, noting she smiled as she went on to talk about how her adoptive daughter had been before she moved on to the day she'd had with Jamie, finally finishing off by telling him how work had been. That was what he loved about her the most – how her friends, their _family_, always came first with her. Work was not the most important thing in her life, and his work hadn't been the most important thing in his since he had met her.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Brooke asked suddenly, her mouth forming a thin straight line.

"No, you look beautiful." He grinned as he stood up, walking over to cup her cheeks, kissing her gently as he gazed at her, "but I have something for you."

Brooke kinked her eyebrow as he moved to the other end of the kitchen, rooting around in his bag that he had lazily thrown on the counter, grinning as he glanced at her before looking down at what he held in his hands. "That better me my fortune cookies," she teased as she playfully looked around the counter, "because don't think for a _minute _that I didn't notice they're not on the counter."

"Something tells me you'll like this a _little _better," he grinned as he walked over to her, holding a small pink box in his hands – one that she instantly recognized from the many times she had visited the small bakery in New York. They made brownies that positively _sinful _and she had told him as such the last time they had been in the city, playfully saying that if she could have one of those brownies while being in Tree Hill, she would have everything she ever wanted. It warmed her heart to know that he remembered that, raspy laughter falling from her lips as she shook her head in amusement. How had she ended up so lucky?

"You _really _brought that brownie all the way from New York?" Brooke questioned, smiling softly as he nodded, her heart fluttering in her chest as he placed the small box in her palm.

"You said that, if you could have that brownie while at home, you would have the best of both worlds and have everything you ever wanted." He grinned as he crouched down in front of her, resting his hands on her thighs as she chewed on her bottom lip, "and the only way the prospect of _me _being happy is even possible, is for _you _to be happy."

Brooke rolled her eyes as she jumped up from her stool, dancing around the kitchen as she untied the ribbon that kept the box closed, her hazel orbs lighting up as the brownie came into sight. Suddenly all thoughts wiped from her mind as she picked up the brownie and bit into it, savouring the taste, frowning suddenly as her teeth bit into something hard.

She felt something roll around her tongue as she reached into her mouth to take it out, blinking in surprise when she saw the white gold ring that rested in her palm. Her heart hammered in her chest as she gazed at it, her eyes filling up with tears as she took in every detail of the ring, all the way from the round sapphire that rested in the middle and the diamonds that rested on each side of it. Brooke opened and closed her mouth several times, confusion settling in as she whirled around, her mouth falling open in surprise when she saw her boyfriend kneeling before her with a grin lighting up his face – pure love shining in his eyes.

"Here," he said as he took the ring out of her palm, cleaning it off in his shirt before he looked back up at her, taking in the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. "We both know that I could go on and about how much I love you and what you mean to me, but there are not nearly enough hours in a day for me to list even _half _of the reasons that I love you. So, it really all comes down to this one thing – you are the person that I love, and you're the person that I want to continue building a home and a family with, because life without you is as pointless as it is incomplete. The one thing that it comes down to is that when I look in your eyes Davis, I see the rest of my life – and I see every moment of that life with you by my side."

Her eyes watered with tears as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"Marry me, Brooke Davis." He finished simply as he held her hands firmly.

"Of course it's yes, you knucklehead!" Brooke laughed as pure joy overtook his face as he quickly got back to his feet, gently kissing away the tears that had escaped her hazel orbs. Her hands clung onto his shirt, pulling him as close to her body as realistically possible before her hands wrapped around his neck. Her boyfriend – _fiancé _– then lifted her up off the floor and she laughed through the tears as he reattached his lips to her, every ounce of his love for her pouring out into that one kiss as she continued to cling onto him, laughing through all of the tears. It felt as though all of her dreams had finally come true – she had her company, she had her daughter, and she was finally getting the boy.

_Believe that dreams come true every day. _

_Because they do._

"You should probably call Haley and Sam too and let them know you said yes, Sam was betting on you letting me sweat it out for a bit." He admitted as he continued to feather her face with soft pecks as her feet returned to the ground, his lips lifting up into a wide grin when she looked at him in utter disbelief. When he had finally decided when and _how _he wanted to propose to her, he had gone about it in all of the traditional ways by making sure that her friends; her _family _had approved but, more than anything, he had wanted to make sure that Sam was okay with it. In his heart he had known that she would be, the teenager had been rooting for them since they had gotten together, but it had been nice to know for sure that she was more than happy with it.

Hazel orbs narrowed, "they _knew_?"

"Yeah."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow, "who else knew?"

He pursed his lips together as he fought his grin, "Nathan, Rachel, Mouth and Millie…"

"So, everyone."

"Pretty much – I even went to your mother and formally asked her if I could make an honest woman out of you, so you might want to call her too."

Brooke laughed. "They can wait," she said quickly before she leaned up and kissed him again, grinning into his mouth when she felt him deepen the kiss instantly. "We have some celebrating to do tonight," she murmured against his lips as love and lust built up in her hazel orbs. "So, what do you say about _that_, fiancé?"

"I say that _that _sounds like a really, really great plan because that ring looks sexy on you."

She grinned coyly, "_You _look sexy on me."

**-x-**

Brooke stretched like a cat in the sunlight from where she was lounging on her sofa, her feet hanging over the edge as her lips lifted up into a dimpled grin. Happiness fluttered in her heart as her hazel orbs drifted back to the bridal magazines that she held in her hands, fighting the urge to pinch herself to ensure that she wasn't dreaming. Every morning she woke up and stared lovingly at the boy she loved, having to remind herself that the night he had proposed to her last month hadn't been a dream. She had spent many days thinking about that future moment when she would get the boy and have the dream wedding that she had been planning since she had been a little girl, and she had to and gaze into her mirror each and every morning to remind herself that it was no longer some distant dream – it was a reality, _her _reality.

And then she would have to _actually _pinch herself and remind herself that she deserved the happiness she felt, especially after the hell her heart had been dragged through.

_So take a look in that mirror and remind yourself to be happy because you deserve to be._

_Believe that._

But, despite the fact that she had been dreaming of her wedding day since she had been four years old, it had only been the past week that she had really been making any plans that were set in stone and it had been Haley that had called her out on it. Her friend had told her that she should plan her wedding now and make sure it was everything she had ever wanted it to be because she _deserved _it to, and then the former tutor had hugged her and told her to believe it. That was why she was stretched out on her sofa, eyeing several bridal magazines, deciding that listening to the tutor couldn't hurt. She _should _just allow herself to be happy and if there was one thing that had always managed to bring a smile to her face, it was a wedding.

Her eyebrows crumpled together in the middle of her forehead as she flipped through the pages that were littered with various bride's maid dressed, knowing in her heart that she didn't have to bother looking at the wedding dresses because she had already designed it. But there were just so _many _different options and they were making her head spin, because she wanted to ensure she found something that all of her girls would look great in, and it annoyed her that no one had offered to help her out with the planning. Rachel had scoffed and said that _weddings _weren't her thing, Millie had been overbearing, Sam's reaction had been the same as the redhead's, and the fashion icon wasn't even going to ask her mother for help. She loved her mother to death, but there was no way she was giving her mother any input on the wedding because _that _would definitely make her head spin.

And her fiancé had already told her that she could have whatever she wanted, which hadn't been any help at all, but she was pleased to say that she had at least narrowed the colour scheme down to three;

A.) Traditional ruby red, a colour that had _always _been her colour, but had sadly been used by her beloved Naley at their second wedding.

B.) A mixture of cream and dark blue.

C.) Or coral.

Brooke chewed on her bottom lip as she pondered over all of the options, blinking in surprise when she heard her front door swing open, pushing herself up and grinning when she saw Haley walk through her door. Her dimples came into view when she saw the bright smile on her friend's face, a smile that only seemed to widen when the former tutor saw what the brunette was looking at, yet she could not help but frown at the sight of her friend. Her mind had been all over the place since her ring had been placed on her finger and she only prayed she hadn't forgotten she had plans with the mother of her beloved godson.

Her eyebrow kinked. "Haley? I didn't know you were stopping by today…"

"Oh god," the former tutor yelped as she placed a hand on her heart, her grin widening as the sarcasm began to pour from her lips. "Have I _really _been so absent that I need a reason to come over to see my favourite girlie?"

The fashion icon rolled her eyes upwards as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, making room for the former tutor who had dropped her purse onto the side table before plopping down onto the sofa, her hands reaching out to pick up one of the various bridal magazines. It was such a simple action that it made the brunette smile, happy to finally have someone to discuss plans with, her mind wondering why she hadn't bothered to ask Haley in the first place. It was then that her smile fell from her face, remembering all of the drama that had been going on in her friend's life lately.

"How's your mom?" Brooke asked softly.

"Tired," the former tutor said simply as she looked at the brunette with a sad smile, "but the doctors say that her treatments are going well."

"That's great, Hales." She beamed as she leaned into the back of the sofa, tucking her legs under her as she placed a comforting hand on Haley's leg. Her eyebrow kinked though, when she saw her friend nod her head slightly, seeing the exhaustion that her friend seemed to be emitting at an alarming rate. "And how is the rest of the James clan? Has the white flag been waved yet, or is world war three still taking place, because I need to know 'cause we are _not _having the weekly get together at your house this week if there's a chance of another cat fight breaking out."

Haley winced, "Nathan told you about that, huh?"

"You, Quinn and Taylor having a water fight in your pool while calling each other a bitch, all the while Vivian scolding the two of you? Yeah, Nathan mentioned that when we grabbed lunch the other day," the fashion icon laughed when she saw the teacher roll her eyes, "but he wasn't the only one. Apparently Jamie and Andre were watching you three from the window but, if it helps, my heavenly godson totally bet five bucks that you would kick Taylor's fat ass."

"Great, not to mention I've had to deal with Nathan grinning at me like an idiot, going on about how his girl was a _'badass' _and it was very _'sexy.'_"

"You loved it, plus you got to punch Taylor – you've wanted to do that for years."

"Yeah well, that hasn't been the only punches that have been thrown in my house this past week."

Brooke blinked, slapping her friend's arm, "what the hell happened, Teacher-Mom?"

"Nathan found out about Quinn and…"

"Oh," a beat and then, "he was pissed?"

Brown orbs narrowed in thought. "Not so much pissed, but more like heavily creeped out."

Brooke nodded her head, the two of them falling into silence as the fashion icon thought about the situation that her friend had gotten herself into. Quinn had been secretly seeing her boyfriend for a little over two weeks now, the two of them having grown close while the momma of the James clan fought her cancer, and the only reason that Haley and Brooke had known was because they had walked in on the two of them having sex. Something that had been awkward for all four of them, but the photographer had begged that they not tell anyone until she was ready and they had agreed, but they had all known even then that Nathan would eventually find out.

And apparently he had, making the brunette more inclined to believe that world war three was looming over the horizon over at Naley's house.

"But that's enough about me, let's talk about you." Haley beamed suddenly as she looked back down at the magazine before smiling at her friend, "and can I just say that I'm _relieved _that you're finally showing some interest in planning your wedding? I mean, I half expected you to buy out the whole shelf of bridal magazines the moment he popped the question, not wait a whole month before you started planning." She clicked her tongue in mock disappointment, shaking her head, "way to leave all of the details to the last minute."

"Last minute?" Brooke's raspy voice questioned in confusion, blinking at her friend in bewilderment while the former tutor glanced at her with a pointed look, as if the fashion icon should _know _what she was talking about, but Brooke only felt her confusion grow until she threw her hands up in frustration. She had _no _idea why her friend was looking at her like that!

"Haley," she breathed out while her lips tilted down into a frown, "what the hell are you talking about?"

The two friends stared into each other's eyes for a brief moment of silence, both of their faces mirror images of confusion. Brooke had no idea why the former tutor thought she had left all of the details until last minute, and Haley had no idea why her best friend was not making a bigger deal of her wedding. The fashion icon had wanted to have her own boy and a family since she was twenty-two, if not long before that, and now that it was within her reach, she was not rushing to the church as quickly as she could. No one loved a wedding more than Brooke Davis; shouldn't these plans have been made _years _ago, sitting in the back of her closet until the day finally arrived?

"I just mean that this is _you_," Haley said softly as she moved closer to her friend, placing a comforting hand on the brunette's leg as a smile etched into her face, "and you _love _weddings. Yet you haven't picked a date and you haven't even started planning _anything_. Tigger, for the love of god, you haven't even picked who your Maid of Honour is going to be and then there's…."

"You," the fashion icon interrupted, blurting out her one-word answer before the former tutor could finish her rant.

Haley closed her mouth in surprise, blinking in surprise while her friend reached out to grip a hold of her hand, one word falling from her lips, "what?"

Brooke laughed, "I want _you _to be my Maid of Honour."

Brown orbs blinked several more times as she opened and closed her mouth. "_Me?_" Haley squeaked in surprise as she stared at the fashionista's face, her brown eyes locking onto hazel.

"You've always been there for me," the brunette answered as tears swelled up in her eyes, chuckling as she smiled. "And there's no one else I would rather have there by my side other than you… you're my Tutor-Girl."

"And you're my Tigger," Haley laughed as she launched herself at her friend, hugging her tightly as she laughed, a smile spreading across her face when the brunette returned the hug. "I would be honoured, Brooke."

Brooke nodded and pulled away from her friend, two craters indenting her cheeks as she kinked her signature eyebrow. "Would _now _be a bad time to tell you that Rachel will be on the step below yours?" She questioned, amusement etched into her expression despite the seriousness that her hazel orbs held.

"No, today was probably the _best _day to tell me." Haley admitted as a dreamy expression stretched across her face, "today has been a _great _day."

"Even with your crazy sisters stirring up trouble?"

She nodded.

Brooke felt eyebrow arch even higher as she looked at the teacher with a curious expression, wondering what had her friend _that _happy. Nothing came to mind.

"You're going to have to tell me," she sighed, "because I got nothing."

Haley took a deep breath and looked at her friend. "I had a reason for coming over here today because I have some _huge _news to tell you," She bit her lip, "and please don't hate me for it but I'm…"

"Pregnant!" The fashion icon finished with a squeal. "Oh, congratulations," Brooke said honestly as she pulled her friend in for another hug, "you selfish baby-haver."

Upon hearing her playful tone, the former tutor returned the hug just as fiercely, a breath of relief falling from her lips as she sunk into her friend's arms. There had been a small part of her that had _known _Brooke would be happy for her, but there was no denying that she had been terrified that it would hurt the brunette's feelings.

She hadn't wanted to make the same mistake that Peyton had made.

Nevertheless, her frown fell into confusion as she pulled away from Brooke, arching on of her own eyebrows. "But how did you…" she trailed off as she looked down at her flat stomach with a chuckle, "is it _that _obvious?"

"No, it's not." Brooke assured as she eyed the teacher carefully, knowing that there was no reason for Haley to start getting self-conscious. The only reason she had been able to pick up on it was because Nathan had mentioned to her a couple of months ago that they had been talking about more kids, not to mention the Haley was practically _glowing_. They were little things, but the fashion icon had been able to read the signs easily.

She simply knew Haley like the back of her hand.

"I'm so happy for you!" Brooke exclaimed as she clapped her hands together excitedly, genuinely happy for both Nathan and Haley, not to mention her beloved godson who she _knew _would be a great older brother. The thought of Jamie made her smile widen, if the new baby was anything like her godson then the brunette knew she was already in love.

But, being who she was, Haley narrowed her eyes in worry and searched her friend's expression for any signs that hinted that the brunette's smile was her famous cheer-smile. Yet it was nowhere in sight and the auburn-haired woman beamed at her friend, debating on whether or not she should tell the fashionista the decision she and Nathan had already arrived at. After all, Brooke had already showed her just how much she meant to her. The fashion icon had decided to make _her _the Maid of Honour because of how much their friendship meant to her; how much the former tutor meant to her, and Haley wanted the brunette to know that those feelings weren't one-sided. She felt their bond just as strongly as Brooke did.

"Brooke, there's something else you should know."

Brooke kinked her eyebrow and studied her friend, a soft chuckle escaping her ruby red lips. "It's not twins, is it?" She questioned honestly, her hazel eyes going wide. "Because if it is, that is _so _not fair."

"No, _god no_." Haley assured as her eyes went wide at the thought of having to go through labour _twice _in one go. She shook the thought from her mind and grasped her friend's hand. "You said you wanted me to be your Maid of Honour because I've always been there for you, right?"

Brooke nodded slowly.

"Well, you've always been there for me too." The teacher continued as she tilted her head to the side, "and you've always been there for Jamie… and I know that this new baby is going to be _just _as lucky because they're going to have their Aunt Brooke too."

"Haley," Brooke laughed as tears swelled up in her eyes. "You're going to make me cry, you bitch."

"Oh, sorry." Haley laughed as she wiped away her own tears with her free hand, taking a deep breath before locking eyes with the girl she had loved since her senior year. "Brooke, what I'm asking is… will you be the baby's godmother?"

"And here comes the tears," the brunette laughed as she nodded her head, sharing a smile with the soon-to-be mother. "I would _love _to, Haley." Brooke admitted as she leaned her head against her friend's shoulder, a soft smile on her face. "But… if you and Nathan love the baby, which we both know you will, do you think _I _could have Jamie?"

Haley laughed. "Nice try, Brooke Davis." She snorted, slapping her friend's leg before she looked at the brunette with sincerity shining in her eyes. "But, while we're on the baby topic, when are you and your boy going to get started on that? You need to hurry up so our kids can go to school together!"

"I am _not _going to be pregnant on my wedding day, Haley!"

"Why not? Pretty much everyone else in our group has been," she snorted as she thought back to the weddings over the past few years. She had been pregnant with Jamie during her second wedding, and Peyton would have been pregnant during hers too if she hadn't gone into premature labour.

"It's just… it's _your _turn to get the boy and the baby." Haley explained as she draped one of her arms over the fashion icon as Brooke picked up one of the bridal magazines.

"I _am _getting the boy," the fashion icon pointed out simply as her eyes drifted to the simple engagement ring that rested on her left hand. "And the baby will come soon after, we both want a family, but I don't want you to worry about that. You have your _own _family to worry about, and stress is _not _healthy for Naley-Baby."

"_Brooke! _You are not starting the whole s-t-r-e-s-s lectures already, and you know what? Naley-Baby is a horrible nickname!"

"Come on, I had to think of _something_!" Brooke pouted as she glanced up at her friend, fighting a smirk.

Haley rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing that a nickname should have been expected from the former cheer-captain. After all, it had been Brooke that had dubbed her Tutor-Girl back in high school.

She sighed. "You're really okay about this? You're not just trying to protect my feelings, right?" Haley ranted, "Because if you're sad because of this pregnancy, I'll understand. You've wanted a baby since you were twenty-two and…"

"Haley! I'm _fine_!" Brooke interrupted with a chuckle. "Yeah, I want to have a baby of my own… but that dream will come true for me." The brunette grinned at the mere thought of it, knowing that all of her dreams were just sitting around the corner.

_And believe that dreams come true every day._

_Because they do._

"It just came true for you _first_," the fashion icon continued as her eyes drifted over to Haley's stomach where her future godchild was growing. Brooke glanced up at the auburn-haired teacher with an honest smile etched into her face. "And I want you to be happy."

Haley nodded her head, knowing that the brunette meant it, and found herself glancing down at the magazine that rested in Brooke's hands. A sly smile crossed her face as she thought of a way to rile the fashion icon up.

"If that's true… you _may _want to rethink the coral." The former tutor teased as she eyed the coral coloured dresses that Brooke had circled.

Brooke's mouth fell open and she shot upright, tearing the magazine from Haley's grasp before she scowled at her friend. "_So _not funny." She muttered.

-TBC-

**All I can say is "mwahaha" … did you **_**really **_**think I would tell you who her fiancé is?**


	9. Part IX

**AN: **You would not believe how long I sat down staring at my computer screen, pouting before I wrote a single word. This is the last chapter of this story – although, I think the fact that this is the _ninth _chapter and I was originally going to have to two chapters, I think we've done pretty good. But yes, this is the final chapter and, even though we all knew it had to happen at some point, I'm still really sad to see it end. This story was my baby and it was my first multi-chapter story and I am _really _going to miss that – I guess I'm just going to have to upload another story to update. Anyway, it has been a fun ride and I hope all of you realise that this story never would have gotten here if it hadn't been for all of your reviews, patience and support.

I love all of you, no joke.

And I really hope all of you have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Enjoy the **last** installment. :'(

* * *

_You should have lied_

_You could have lied._

"Samantha Davis, wake up and smell the coffee!"

Sam groaned as her eyes fluttered open, wincing slightly when she saw her mother standing in front of her, her hands placed on her hips while she scowled down at the teenager. Everything about the fashion icon's expression told her just how annoyed she was, but it wasn't the teenager's fault that she was falling asleep. The night before they had stayed up late pigging out on ice cream and pizza, watching countless romantic comedies, and she was tired as hell. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had gotten to sleep in, but Haley had woken everyone up at the _butt crack _of dawn because they had to make sure everyone was ready on time and _that _had been when she had tuned the former tutor out.

"There is no way the guys were up this early, I should have gone to poker night with them! _Jamie _did!" She groaned as she curled up once again, cuddling into the back of the sofa that she had found located in the bridal suite in the church, a sigh of contentment falling from her lips as she felt her entire body relax. It felt as though she was laying on something that had been made out of hopes and dreams, something so comfortable that it couldn't be real, only for a sharp sting to have her shooting up in annoyance. Her brown orbs narrowed in annoyance when she saw the fashion icon standing in front of her, an eyebrow kinked while she held a thick book in her hand – the one that she had just used to hit her daughter with.

"Did you really just hit me with a bible?" Sam asked as her mouth fell open in shock, glaring at her mother, "because that is wrong on so many levels that you are _so _going to hell!"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "then I'll save you a seat."

"Maid of Honour coming through, both of you to your separate corners." Haley ordered as she walked into the room, holding a tray full of coffees in her hands while the redhead entered behind her, her own hands carrying a box of doughnuts as her face fell into a scowl, glaring daggers at the former tutor.

"_Co_-Maid of Honour," Rachel huffed in annoyance as she whirled around to send the fashion icon a pointed look, "Brooke Davis! Tell the bitch that we're _co_-Maid of Honours."

"Where's my latte?" Brooke questioned instead, opting for not answering the question as she skipped over to the table where her friend had just laid the coffees, grinning happily as she took the first step. Her hazel eyes fell closed as she hummed in relief, feeling the caffeine work its magic immediately as she inhaled the wonderful scents of cinnamon and vanilla. The night before had been fun, having fully enjoyed spending the night with all of the girls that meant the world to her, but somewhere in the back of her mind she _knew _that Sam had been right – they should have gone to bed earlier.

Hell, she hadn't been this tired since her bachelorette party.

She almost groaned at the memory, remembering how Haley had passed _that _Maid of Honour duty over to the redhead, leaving all of them at Rachel's mercy.

It had been a little over a month after the former tutor had had her daughter, and the redhead had decided that all of the girls should leave town for a weekend and hit every bar that they passed. Of course, the redhead had monitored the number of drinks she'd had because of the history she had with substance abuse, but that hadn't stopped her from pouring drinks down Brooke and Haley's throats – she had even been able to get a reluctant Millicent trashed. Quinn, on the other hand, seemed to have a high tolerance for alcohol and had spent the whole night dancing and taking pictures of her friends whenever they did something photo worthy – aka, _embarrassing_.

"Tutor-Bitch, don't even start with me! You _know _that the only reason that she asked _you _to be her Maid of Honour was because you were pregnant and emotional," Rachel scoffed as she crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at the former tutor, her red locks thrown up into a messy ponytail while she stood in a bathrobe. "She was probably petrified that you would go all emotional on her, _sobbing _because you thought you weren't as important to her or something!"

"Actually, she asked me to be her Maid of Honour _before _I told her I was pregnant, Rachel." Haley said calmly as she arched one of her eyebrows, smirking a little when she saw the redhead scowl at her. She had never thought she would see the day, but she was _used _to arguing with Rachel and, at some point over the past two years, it had turned into playful banter between two friends.

"Well, then this doesn't make any sense! I am _so _much cooler than you! Who would want _you _as their Maid of Honour when they could have _me_?"

"Brooke, apparently."

Rachel opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off as the raven-haired assistant barged into the room.

"Okay, so everything is all ready to go. All of the guys are over getting ready, the rings are accounted for, and I called place we're having the reception and everything is set – the bartender, who is thankfully _not _Chase, hasn't died or contracted some mysterious disease since he was hired and the…" Millicent rambled as she walked into the room, rambling as she held her planner and cell phone in her hands, her lips pulling down into a frown when she saw her friends staring at her as though _she _was the crazy one. Her eyes went wide, "you guys aren't ready! Your make-up isn't done, your hair isn't done… god this is more of a mess than _any _fashion show and I am ten seconds from having a total freak-out because this…"

"Whoa, okay someone needs to breathe." Brooke chuckled as she rushed over to her friend, pulling the planner and cell phone from her hands as she beamed at her, two dimples poking out into her cheeks when she saw that her friend was mere seconds from having an anxiety attack. "Millie, you need to relax – I mean, this isn't even _your _wedding."

"She's right though, we have to start getting ready." Haley admitted as she walked over to the vanity that was in the room, turning on the curling iron before she walked over to the fashion icon, dragging her over to sit on the chair before she sent the redhead a pointed look. "Rachel, you take care of Sam's hair because the girl has some _major _bed head on the go, and Millie? Help yourself to a doughnut and some coffee – there's an extra one."

Brooke rolled her eyes as the former tutor began taking the curlers out of her hair, kinking an eyebrow as she caught her Maid of Honour's gaze in the mirror, mumbling softly under her breath. "With the way she's rambling and freaking-out, you _really _think that caffeine is going to help Millie? Teacher-Girl, I'm shocked! You're usually smarter than that."

Haley grinned, "I'm not giving it to her because it'll help her relax – I'm giving it to her because, with her mouth full, she can't talk so damn much."

"Haley James-Scott, you just may be a genius."

Laughter fell from their lips before they drifted into a comfortable silence, smiles etched into their faces as the true meaning of what that day was finally descending upon all of them. Brooke Davis was finally getting married, getting the happy ending with the boy that she loved, and all of her friends couldn't have been happier for her. After everything the fashion icon had been through, after all of the blunders that it had taken to get her to that moment, there was no one else in the world that deserved to be happy _more _than the former cheer-captain.

_Life's too short to play games._

Hazel orbs watched her reflection as Haley slowly curled her dark brown hair, returning her friends smile before she glanced around the room, rolling her eyes when she saw Millicent happily eating several pastries while she watched the model attempted to style Sam's hair. Apparently Rachel had decided that the teenager would look _cute _if her hair fell around her face in gentle waves, something that Sam seemed hell bent against, her stubborn attitude shining through as she scowled in annoyance.

"You are _so _going to be the most beautiful bride ever," Haley sent her friend a watery smile, walking around to stand in front of the brunette as she curled her bang and pinned it to the side, tears threatening to fall from her face as she thought about how wonderful that day would be for Brooke. It would surely be everything that she had ever wanted and that was all the former tutor had ever wanted for her friend and, though she hadn't asked the fashion icon about it, Haley knew that it meant a lot to the brunette that both Lucas and Peyton would be there to watch her get married. It almost felt as though it was the third act twist to the messy love triangle plus three. Everyone had finally reached their happy end.

"Haley, don't you dare even start with any of that because if you cry, then I'm going to cry and once I start we both know that I won't be able to stop." The brunette warned playfully, tears swelling up in her own eyes as she watched Haley nod, exhaling deeply before she turned around to turn off the curling iron. Although, there was a part of Brooke that knew she would be crying before the night was over. It always seemed as though tears went hand in hand with weddings when it came to her, and she had no doubt that it would be the case this time as well.

She would cry; there was no doubt that; it was just a matter of when.

"That's because you're an over-emotional prude." Rachel shrugged simply from where she was stood, releasing the teenager from her hold as she went about straightening her own hair, sending a teasing smirk over to her best friend when the fashion icon turned to glare at her. Her lips pursed together in thought, "although something tells me that _prude _won't be applying to you tonight once you get your boy alone, not from the stories that Sam has told me about the two of you."

"Samantha!" Brooke hissed in surprise as she whirled around her chair, her mouth falling open as she looked at her daughter in shock.

"What? You're seriously going to pretend that it's a _lie_," her daughter challenged with an arched eyebrow, "because I'm honestly surprised that I don't have a baby brother or sister already."

The fashion icon rolled her eyes in annoyance when she heard the comment, knowing in her heart that all of her friends were surprised that the two of them hadn't started their family already. They both wanted children, and he constantly said that he could not wait to have a daughter that was just like her because they were _bound _to shake things up, but they already had a family. They had all of their friends and they had Sam, and they had wanted to go about everything in the right way – especially since his parents had always held the belief that it should go marriage and _then _baby, not that either of them would have objected to having a grandbaby earlier.

"Oh, you'll have one within the year." Rachel teased, her lips lifted up into a wide grin as she winked over at her best friend. Her lips then pursed together and she looked over at Sam in though, bobbing her head up and down as she said, "actually I wouldn't be all that surprised if she announced that she was pregnant in the next four months – hell, I'm willing to bet on it."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow, "oh really?"

Rachel copied the action, nodding. "Slut, the two of you are going _away _to the Bahamas for _two _weeks. It's your honeymoon, what else are you going to do besides have sex?"

"Lounge in the sun?"

"Which means you'll just end up having sex on the beach."

"I really do _not _need to hear this conversation." Sam groaned as she plugged her ear, a smile on her face the entire time though, because there was nothing she wanted more than for her mother to have the baby she'd always wanted. There had been a time where she had been frightened to death at the prospect of the fashion icon having her own baby, afraid that her mother would somehow love the baby more than she would love her, but after years of living with Brooke she knew that wasn't the case. Nothing would ever change the fact that _she _had been Brooke's first child, regardless of whether she had actually given birth to her or not.

_If you love somebody and you want to be with them, then go get them._

"Everybody say _cheese!_" Quinn grinned as she walked into the room, the flash going off on her camera once everyone looked at her, beaming when she brought up the image to look at it. Rachel was winking into the camera, Sam still had her ears plugged, Haley had smiled into the camera while she moved to the other end of the room to get her make-up bag, and Millicent was still eating the doughnuts that her friends had brought into the room. What really stood out in the picture though, was the bright smile that had engraved itself into the fashion icon's face – one that had been there ever since she had woken up that morning.

Though there were a lot of people that would argue that it had been there since her fiancé had taken her out on their first date.

Quinn was just happy that her friend had found someone that truly made her happy.

"That is definitely going to be one for the scrapbook," she admitted as she walked further into the room.

"Just promise me that you won't be taking pictures _constantly_, you camera nazi." Brooke pleaded with a grin, winking over at Quinn when the woman stuck out her tongue in progress, only for her chin to be grabbed by the former tutor as she went about making sure that her friend looked perfect for her walk down the aisle. Almost immediately Haley grabbed the brunette's signature red lipstick and gold-coloured eye shadow that would surely make her hazel orbs stand out against her sun kissed complexion, something that impressed Brooke – especially since she could vividly remember when Haley had lacked fashion sense. The mere _thought _of the horrid poncho was enough to have the brunette shuddering in disgust.

"You will _thank _me for these pictures someday," Quinn scoffed playfully as she went over to lean against the vanity her sister and Brooke were stationed at, exhaling slowly as she looked at the fashion icon in awe when she saw how beautiful she looked. Instinct had her lifting up her camera and snapping a picture before anyone could protest, only for her light orbs to roll upwards in annoyance when Brooke scowled at her, causing her to give in. "But if it really means that much to you, then I swear on my camera that i will enjoy myself tonight."

"What she _means _to say, is that she promises to sneak off with her boyfriend at some point and have the inevitable slutty wedding sex." Rachel said matter-of-factly as she grinned at the photographer, wiggling her eyebrows when everyone in the room turned to look at her in exasperation. "What? Slutty wedding sex goes hand in hand with _every _wedding and, unless it's Quinn and her boy toy that do the nasty, then I have no idea who it could be."

"You?" Everyone scoffed, looking at the redhead in amusement.

Rachel opened her mouth to deny the possibility, only to then raise her eyebrow as she grinned shamelessly. "Hmm, you may have a point."

"Of course we do, _I'm _the tutor girl – I'm never wrong." Haley said sarcastically before she packed away all of the make-up she had used, moving out of the way so the brunette could look at her reflection while the model rolled her eyes in amusement. The former tutor wrapped her arms around her best friend, holding the brunette tightly as they locked gazes in the mirror. "It's official, you _are _the most beautiful bride that I've ever seen… and you're not even in your dress yet," she chuckled, "which you are going to look _so _beautiful in."

"Haley! You _just _finished my wedding make-up!" Brooke exclaimed with a laugh when the former tutor released her from her hold, only for the statement to finally weigh down on her as she looked at all of her friends with a large grin on her face. "My wedding make-up… guys, I'm getting _married_." Her dimples poked out into view, tears swelling up in her hazel eyes.

Sam blinked when everyone around her looked at the brunette, bright smiles on their faces while their own eyes filled with tears, even the redhead who avoided girly moments such as this like the plague. Her eyebrow kinked as she hopped up from where she had been sitting, fixing her navy dress before she shook her head, heading towards the doors. "Too many hormones going crazy in here, I'm going to make sure he hasn't pulled a _runaway bride _on us."

Yet all of her words fell on deaf ears as everyone walked over and took turns hugging the fashion icon.

_Deal with the mess later._

"We are _so _going to have to redo your make-up!" Quinn grinned, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, one that the brunette held tightly in her grasp, squeezing it tightly.

"Well, I have to go make sure the guys haven't gotten into any trouble." Millicent sighed sadly as she hugged her boss once more, blinking in surprise when everyone looked at her in confusion – all of them ten seconds from hunting the guys down if they so much as _thought _of causing trouble. "No, no, no – not like that! They're not tailgating again," the assistant laughed when she thought of how they had all snuck beer into the brooder's almost-wedding to his editor, "they're just guarding the door, only letting in people who _have _an invitation because they're convinced something goes wrong at _every _wedding in Tree Hill."

Haley arched an eyebrow, "well, they're not exactly _wrong_."

"I'll come with you," Quinn smiled as she stood up to leave with Millicent, looking at the other three women pointedly. "It's time for you three to put on your dresses."

Haley nodded her head slowly as the two of them walked out of the room, quietly closing the door behind them while the former tutor went to get the bridesmaid dresses, handing one to the redhead before she walked into the change room to put hers on. She had grown up a lot since high school and changing in front of the two of them really didn't bother her as much as it would have in high school, but she had caught Rachel's eye on her way across the room and she _knew _that the model wanted a moment alone with Brooke. She could read Rachel like the back of her hand because, even though the two of them bitched at each other constantly, the two of them were friends. Hell, the former tutor would never admit aloud if she were ever asked – but the redhead was one of her _best _friends.

Rachel smiled as she watched the door close behind the teacher, her brown orbs resting on the brunette once again, a teasing grin lighting up her face. "You know, you almost don't look like a slut right now – although, I must admit that _you _wearing _white _on your wedding day is just as funny as it is wrong." Her eyebrow kinked, "isn't it supposed to represent purity or something like that? 'Cause we both know you're not _that._"

"Please, I am a former clean teen." Brooke scoffed, raspy laughter from her lips as she shared a look with the redhead, remembering all of the drama that the two of them had caused in high school when they had been roommates. She gripped her friend's hand tightly, her dimples indenting her cheeks deeply as she looked at the model with sincere eyes, "thanks for being here today, Bitch. I don't think I would have been able to get through today, or a couple other days, without you here."

"I told you I wouldn't be going anywhere this time," the model pointed out as she remembered that day in New York when the two of them had buried the hatchet and started to rebuild their friendship, "that doesn't change just because I moved in with my own boy."

"Rachel Gatina having her own boy," the brunette grinned, "what has the world come to?"

"You mock, but I don't care."

"Rachel," Haley called out as she walked into the room, wearing the coral dress that the brunette had opted for using in her wedding, which had been something that the former tutor had moaned about several times. It was as if the fashion icon had chosen them out of spite _just _because she had told her not to choose it. "Hurry up and put on your dress, we have to get Brooke ready yet."

Rachel nodded, squeezing her friend's hand before she grabbed her dress, walking to the other end of the room and stripping in front of the two, sending them a flirty wink when they looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Wait? We all know that I have nothing to be ashamed of, I look_ good_." She grinned happily when the rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulders as she took the dress off its hanger, "besides – I know you both want me."

_We don't know what tomorrow will bring._

"Right," Haley chuckled before she looked down at the bride, "today is going to be a great day."

"It already _is _a great day." Brooke whispered, her eyes watering with tears once again, only for a watery laugh to escape her lips when the former tutor scolded her, running to get the make-up once again when she saw that some of the mascara had run. Brooke found that she could care less though, none of it mattered to her – all that mattered was the fact that she was getting married. All her life she had loved weddings; the dresses, the vows, all of it, but in that moment she didn't care about any of that, nor was she feeling nervous. It could have been a three minute ceremony in jeans and tee-shirt, downed with beer, as long as it still meant that he was still waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

**-x-**

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, adjusting his bowtie for the millionth time that day. He had fought against his fiancée endlessly, pleading and begging to be allowed to wear a clip on tie, but Brooke had merely kinked her eyebrow at him. There was no way he was getting off that easily, she had said simply with a coy grin strewn across her features, not if he wanted her to say _'I do' _when she reached the altar.

He grinned at the memory.

Haley had been right all of those months ago, his girl _was _crazy.

"Here, let me help you with that." Nathan chuckled as he walked over to his friend to fix the bowtie, grinning when the groom breathed out slowly. His eyebrow arched slightly as he looked his friend in the eyes, "you okay there, man? You nervous? Because if you even _think _about leaving her at the altar I will kick your ass so hard that you'll never be able to…"

"Nate, man, relax! _I'm _the one who's supposed to be stressing out, not you." He chuckled when his friend placed a hand on his shoulder, his lips quirking up into a grin. "And you would think that I _would _be nervous, but I'm not."

"Are you _sure_?" His friend frowned, looking at him in disbelief as he turned towards the mirror, fixing his own damned bowtie as the two of them met gazes in the mirror. "Not even a _little _bit? I mean, we're talking about Brooke here, man. She's gonna drive you crazy."

He felt his grin widen as he thought of the brunette, "she already drives me crazy."

He grinned at the thought of the woman that would be walking down the aisle shortly. He loved everything about her – he enjoyed that way her entire face lit up when she was hanging out with her godchildren, he loved listening to the playful banter between her and all of her friends, as well as the banter between her and Sam, and he loved her laugh. The way her raspy voice sounded when it fell from her ruby lips in an honest laugh did things to him that he knew it shouldn't and it never failed to bring a smile to his face, regardless of how much the fashion icon claimed to hate it. That didn't matter because _he _loved it and he loved her dimples but, more than anything, he loved _her_.

He had never been the kind of person that went on about true love and soul mates, but all of that had changed the moment he had fallen in love with Brooke Davis because he knew there was no one else he could ever be with.

He would rather be _alone _than be without her.

That was why he couldn't understand how someone could be nervous on their wedding day. Your wedding was the day when the greatest adventure of your life started and, in his heart, he couldn't help but believe that every decision he had ever made had been leading him to this moment. It was as if everything that he had ever gone through was meant to lead him to the brunette with the dimpled grin because, without her, his life never would have truly started because she was the one that made his word go 'round – she _was _his world. She completed him in ways that he had never thought possible. Brooke Davis was his missing piece that he hadn't known was missing until she had bounced into his life, turning everything upside down. He hadn't known it back then, but he had been doomed to fall for her the moment that they had met.

"It feels like I've been waiting for this day my whole life," he admitted softly as he grinned at the athlete, "I just want to get all of this over with so I can _finally _say that Brooke is my wife."

Nathan chuckled, "finally? Dude, Brooke _really _has you whipped, doesn't she?"

His eyes narrowed in mock annoyance, "don't even judge, man. _You're _the one that got married at sixteen – now, how is _that _for being whipped?"

"I am _not _whipped!"

"Momma would probably disagree with that," Jamie piped up from where he was sitting across the room, clad in his own tuxedo before he acted as the ring bearer for his godmother's wedding, his blue orbs never leaving his PSP as a large smirk spread over his face.

"But _you're _not going to tell her, J Luke."

Jamie finally looked up at his father, his eyebrow kinked, "that's gonna cost you."

"I'm telling you, man, your fiancée corrupted my son!" Nathan muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes when his friend merely laughed, his lips pursed into a thin line. All of a sudden a grin crossed his face, "just wait 'til _you _two have kids – payback is a bitch and I'm going to make it my life's mission to corrupt them! Brooke wants girly girls to play dress-up with? Ha! They're going to be tomboys who love basketball if I have my way."

"Good luck with that, but honestly? I hope our first child is a girl and that she's just like her mom, right down to the dimples." The groom admitted happily with a goofy grin tugging at his lips, looking over at his best man with an expression that seeped of happiness. His eyes bore into the athlete's bright blue ones, "And I hope that someday she's best friends with Lydia Brooke Scott."

_I hope it's a girl and that she's just like her mom, and that someday she'll be best friends with Lydia Scott._

_I'll drink to that._

Nathan nodded his head thoughtfully before his own grin lit up his face, "I could live with that."

More than anything he was happy that his two friends had found each other. He hadn't approved of their friendship in the beginning, mostly because he had been afraid of what would happen if the fashion icon were to have his heart broken once again, but he had pushed all of those fears aside when he had seen how happy it made Brooke to be with him. The two of them had been through a lot over the past couple of years – between her difficulties with the company, his need to be gone for weeks at a time, but the two of them had managed to find a way to make it work.

Nathan could remember when the former cheer-captain had said that it was _his _love with Haley that would not alter, that it was a love that would remain the same, and he knew that she had been right. Their love hadn't changed over the years and he couldn't help but think that the love she shared with his fiancé was the exact same – the two of them would be together forever. There was no way that the two of them would fall apart; he knew that – everyone knew that. The two of them had meant to be together from the very beginning, and they had finally found their way to each other

"When we met," the groom began suddenly, "did you ever think this is where we would end up?"

"What? You marrying Brooke and me being your best man?" Nathan questioned, shaking his head, "nah, not really."

"Me neither, especially not when I look back at the hard times," he chuckled as he thought of all of the hard times the two of them had been through.

"Please, the two of you were meant for each other all along. Your story is epic in its own way," Logan grinned as he walked into the room, plopping down beside the young Scott as he grinned up at his friend. The two of them had grown up together, going back to their childhood, and Logan was happy that his friend had finally found someone to share his life with. After the last heartbreak he had suffered, he had lost his way and had opted for burying his heartache by sleeping with faceless women, but Logan Echolls had had no doubt in his mind that the fashion icon had walked into his friend's life right when he had needed her most – and the same could be said for his friend. The couple needed each other; there was no one else by this point. They were _it_.

The groom raised an eyebrow, "epic how?"

"Spanning years and continents, lives ruined, bloodshed – _epic_." Lucas shrugged simply when his friend and Nathan turned to look at him pointedly.

Nathan shared a look with the groom before he looked back at Logan. "C'mon, man, lives ruined? Bloodshed?"

Logan looked at them pointedly, and the groom felt a sigh fall from his lips in amusement. "You _really _think that a relationship should be that hard?"

Logan shrugged, "no one ever writes songs about the ones that came easy, dude."

_Sometimes I think we waste our words and we waste our moments, and we don't take the time to say the things that are in our hearts when we have the chance._

"Bet you're glad you picked _me _to be your best man now, huh?" Nathan grinned after a couple of moments of silence, slapping his friend on the back when their eyes met, his signature smirk lighting up his face when he heard Logan scoff in mock annoyance. "But if you need to hear it – I promise I won't talk about bloodshed and the end of the world in my speech."

"Man, that was _heartfelt _right there!" Logan protested half-heartedly, looking over at the young Scott for encouragement, "right, Little Scott?"

Jamie frowned up at him, "I'm eight!"

The two of them began to banter back and forth and Nathan sighed in annoyance as he walked over to break it up before it escalated – the three of them blind to the pair of sparkling eyes that were watching them. He had finally found the family that he had always wanted, one that he would do anything for. When he had first gone to the small town, he had never expected to fall in love with the people, nor had he ever expected that he would find the love of his life. His lips lifted up into a large smile as he turned around to face the mirror once again, taking in his appearance as he flashed back to the morning after he had proposed to the fashion icon.

_He felt his eyes flutter open and was unable to fight his grin when he saw her sitting on the bed beside him, clad in his tee-shirt while she flicked through a bridal magazine. Her dark brown hair was thrown up in a messy bun on top of her head, a few strands falling down around her neck in gentle curls, and her dimples were poking out into her cheeks as her hazel orbs glanced down at the ring on her finger every couple of seconds. She had never looked so beautiful to him, and he knew in that moment that his decision to marry her was the right now._

"_Oh no, not again." He grinned playfully when glanced over at him with a kinked eyebrow, "this happens to me all the time! I sleep with a girl and, because it was so amazing, the next morning she starts planning our wedding."_

_Brooke rolled her eyes, "you would like to think it was _that_ amazing."_

"_Ouch, easy on my manhood__,__" He laughed as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, leaning over to place kisses on her neck. His boyish grin lit up his face as he murmured against her skin, "I'm marrying you."_

_She turned her body so she could pull him in for a soft kiss, grinning at him as she rested her forehead against his, her hand resting on his shoulder. "You bet your ass you are."_

He grinned, fixing his bowtie one last time.

**-x-**

He stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, his blue orbs locked onto her as she stood in front of the mirror in her wedding gown.

Her dimples were once again poked out in her cheeks, something that he had noticed a lot over the week that he had been home, the sight causing his heart to beam and to break all at the same time. The two of them had talked several times since he had docked in his hometown, and he couldn't remember how many times her genuine smile had engraved her face – something that made his heart swell with joy because he was more than thrilled that she had found the love and happiness that she had always deserved, yet he could feel his fragile heart break slightly at the sight of it, knowing that he had nothing to do with it.

Looking at her now though, he could hardly believe that she was the same woman that had walked away from him in the airport two years before.

Then again, she _wasn't _the same woman.

Brooke Davis had grown up.

_In two years, she had grown more than anyone I had ever known._

"Lucas?" Her raspy voice questioned as she turned around, blinking in surprise when she saw the brooder leaning in the doorway, a slight smile on his face as he caught her eyes. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Brooke questioned as she walked towards him, meeting him in the middle of the room before wrapping him in a gentle hug, her red lips lifting up into a large grin when she heard him laugh at her lightly.

"You invited me, remember?"

"You _know _that's not what I meant." Brooke scowled in mock annoyance as she pulled away from him, her hands resting on her hips as she kinked her eyebrow at him.

"Speaking from experience, I know that it's hard to get the bride alone on her day – even when you're the _groom_." Lucas admitted with a grin as he took in her appearance, his blue orbs taking in the way her brown hair fell past her shoulders in gentle waves while her lips were covered in her signature red lipstick. But what really caught his attention was the stunning wedding dress that she was wearing, not that he was surprised considering she had made the dress to fit her body and not the other way around. The bodice was composed of beaded lace embellishments and crystals, only for the asymmetrical waist to be highlighted by a dramatic organza bow before the gown fell down to the floor in a simple, A-line skirt. There was no denying that the fashion icon looked amazing, and he felt the need to let her know that – he needed her to know that, despite everything that had happened between all of them two years ago, he was truly happy for her. She deserved this.

"And I just needed to let you know that you look beautiful, Brooke Davis" He continued simply, his voice a soft murmur as she waved her hand around wildly, cursing herself for the tears that were once again swelling up in her hazel orbs.

"Bold and beautiful and brave," she quoted softly as she gazed up at him, "right?"

She could vividly remember the night that the brooder had shown her those words, the night when he had let her inside his heart and mind long enough for her to see how much he truly cared for her, and those had been the words that had helped her survive those hellish years after high school. Even though he hadn't been in her life, she had kept those words – that part of him – with her at all times so she could remember the person that she had once been, the person she had been when he had written those words about her. And she was that person again, all of her friends told her as such. The two years since they had closed the door on the love triangle from hell had done her good, all of the secrets had been revealed and she had felt at peace. It had been as though she had been free from his old life; free to start a new life for herself.

"You know you don't have to ask that, Brooke." Lucas pointed out simply, remembering the prior weddings that he had been to with the brunette before him. The one memory that seemed to stand out in his mind though was the memory of how he had found her in tears after she had read his best man speech – the one that he had never gotten to read at his uncle's wedding. It had talked about taking chances even when life told you not to, about how a wedding could make you believe again even if it was only for one night, and then he remembered the promise that he had made to her that day.

He had broken almost every promise he had ever made for her, but he knew that he could keep that one.

_I just hope at my wedding, someone says something that nice about me._

_I think you can count on that._

"Remember when I told you that you would change the world someday?" He voiced softly, only continuing when he saw her nod her head slowly, her hazel orbs holding confusion as he exhaled. "You already _have _changed the world, Brooke Davis. I look at everything that you've done for your family, for Sam, for all of your friends – what you did for Peyton and i… and I know that you've made an impact on all of our lives; on the world, because you have changed our worlds by just being in them." Lucas vowed, remembering how he had fled town two years ago to become a better person; an action that had been fuelled by the fashion icon in front of him.

Her hazel orbs rolled upwards as she reached out to smack his chest. "You are not allowed to make me cry, Lucas Scott!" Brooke exclaimed, narrowing her eyes while a grin tugged at her lips.

He chuckled, "I promised you that I would say something nice about you at your wedding."

"Thank-you, Luke." Brooke murmured softly as she reached up, pulling him in for a tight hug once her shock faded, her head resting on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her gently. She frowned slightly in thought, feeling none of the lingering feelings that she had once felt whenever he had hugged her or kissed the top of her head lovingly. There would always be a part of her heart that reserved for the brooder, for the teenage boy who had once declared to their entire graduating class that he was the one for her, but she felt none of those old butterflies as she relished in the hug.

She had finally moved on from all of it.

"Can I come in?" A voice suddenly asked from the doorway, her hazel orbs drifting over to see a smiling Peyton standing at the door hesitantly.

Brooke pulled away from the brooder, her hazel orbs resting on the woman that had been her best friend all throughout her childhood, her heart beaming at the thought that the artist could be there to celebrate the day with her. She could vividly remember planning her dream wedding when she had been seven – one where she would be riding down the aisle on a unicorn – and, though that dream had changed over the years, the one thing that hadn't was the fact that she wanted Peyton to be there. There had been a time when she would have asked her childhood best friend to be her Maid of Honour, but those days were long gone.

Yet she could not deny how happy she was to have the artist there, how happy she was to have both of the tortured blonde there for her.

In her mind, it was the perfect ending to their love triangle from hell.

"I'll give you two a minute…" Lucas said as he headed towards the door, pausing briefly to squeeze his wife's hand in support, only to pause when he heard the brunette call out to him.

Brooke frowned, "Luke?"

He blinked as he looked back at her, "yeah?"

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

His lips lifted up into a smile as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him, effectively leaving the former best friends alone in the room together.

Peyton licked her lips as she walked further into the room, chewing on her bottom lip as she took in the fashion icon's appearance, her lips lifting up into a genuine smile. "You're getting married, Brooke." She voiced simply, her brain still unable to grasp the fact that she had missed out on so much since she had been gone. Mia had explained everything to her over lunch the other day, and the tortured artist found that her mind was still spinning from the information overload, but even so she couldn't deny how happy she was for the brunette.

Brooke's lips formed an automatic smiled, "I know."

Peyton swallowed the lump in throat as she searched for the right thing to say, her expression turning serious as her eyes locked onto hazel orbs. "Look, I know that we're not close anymore, but I just wanted you to know how much it means to me that you wanted me here today. And I'm… I'm sorry for being such a _bitch_," the two of them allowed laughter to fall from their lips before the artist continued with her spiel, "No, Brooke, I really mean that. I'm sorry for everything I did in high school and everything that I did _after _high school. You were right, I could have lied back then – I _should _have lied back then because what I did was wrong and I don't think I ever really apologized for that, and it doesn't really matter _now_, but I just wanted you to know that I am sorry."

Brooke kinked an eyebrow, "someone grew up."

"Yeah," the blonde chuckled, "I guess you were the slap to the face that I didn't know I needed."

Her dimples poked out in her cheeks as she waited for Peyton to continue speaking.

"Anyway, I know that I took you and our friendship for granted, but I just want you to know that I'm _so _happy for you. After everything you've been through – after everything _I've _put you through – you deserve this happy ending more than anyone I know." Her emerald-green eyes began to water as she sent the brunette a watery smile, "and I'm so happy that I get to be here to see you get your happy ending because… you know, I think about everyone else out there in the world that have been forced to go through their life alone, and then I think about you and how amazing you are, and how you always put the people you love first... it just make me feel sorry for everyone else in the world, and I _know _that your boy is about to become _the luckiest _guy in the world because he's marrying you."

_I think about everyone else out there in the world that goes through their life alone, and then I think of all the amazing years I've gotten to spend with my beautiful, beautiful best friend Brooke Davis and I kind of feel sorry for everyone else._

"Thank-you, P _Scott_." Brooke murmured as she pulled her former best friend in for a hug, holding the artist tightly, "despite everything, it would have been wrong not having you here today."

"Believe me, there is nowhere else I would rather be right now – you really deserve to be happy, Brooke."

"I _am _happy."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Speak slave and permission to enter _may _be granted," Brooke called out playfully, knowing that it was one of her friends running to make sure that she was ready.

"Really, Brooke." Victoria scolded as she walked into the room, her eyebrow kinked as she took in the sight before her, looking at her daughter in confusion before she shrugged. Instantly she pushed all of the thoughts from her mind as she focussed on the fashion icon, "considering I am you _mother_, I hardly think that I have to ask permission to see you on your wedding day."

Peyton pulled away from the brunette, blinking in surprise when she saw the genuine smile on Victoria's face – an expression that she had always believed that the older woman wasn't capable of. She could vividly remember when she had told the older woman off, telling her to stop being such a bitch to her daughter, only for the memory to cause her to wince now. Victoria had listened to her warning and had turned into the mother that Brooke had always deserved; she had stopped being a bitch before she had lost her daughter completely. There was a part of the artist that just wished that someone had taken her aside and given her the same speech before she had lost her best friend.

"It's okay," Brooke assured when she saw the confusion on the artist's face. she understood all too well why her former friend was hesitant to leave her alone with her mother, the last time Peyton had lived in their hometown she had spent all of her time bitching and complaining about how big of a bitch her mother was. Now though, the two of them were closer than ever and what they shared was no longer a business relationship, she was merely a woman who just so happened to be working with her mother.

Her hazel orbs watched as the artist left the room, her lips lifting up into a smile when she turned to face her mother, only for smile to fall when she saw the frown on her mother's face. It wasn't one of sadness for herself, it was one of sadness that seemed to be aimed at the fashion icon, and it only took Brooke a moment to figure it out – not that she was overly surprised by the turn of events.

"He's not coming," she said simply with a shrug, shaking her head as she thought of her father. The two of them had talked on the phone the other day – something that had impressed the fashion icon because she had _never _been able to get him on the phone in the past – and he had promised that he would attend her wedding. Richard Davis had laughed over the phone, claiming that he was happy for his daughter, and then he had promised her that nothing was more important to him than giving his daughter away on her big day.

Part of her had known even then that he wouldn't show up.

"No, he's not." Victoria sighed as she walked up to her daughter, cupping her cheeks as she offered her a sad smile. "I know how much it meant to you that he be here today, dear."

Brooke returned the sad smile with one of her own, "We kinda knew to expect this, though."

"Speaking as a parent that has let her daughter down in the past though, I can assure you that there will come a day that he'll regret not being here." Victoria admitted as she thought of how much she had hated herself for missing her daughter's life, "and I was already over talking with the guys, and Nathan offered to walk you down the aisle if you wanted him to – even your future father-in-law said his services were available." She winked at her daughter, "he said you're his daughter now anyway."

Brooke felt her lips lift up into a smile as she thought of how lucky she was to have all of them in her life, her lips pursing together in thought as she thought of who she wanted to walk her down the aisle as a replacement. She loved Nathan like a brother and then there was the man who was about to become her father-in-law, a man that held a piece of his heart. She released a breath as a thought occurred to her. Her hazel orbs gazed at her mother, a watery smile etching into her face as she nodded to herself, _this _was the right choice.

"Mom," she breathed out softly as she locked gazes with her mother, "will _you _give me away?"

Victoria blinked in surprise before tears swelled up in her blue eyes.

Brooke kinked an eyebrow in surprise, "Mom, are you going to… _cry_?"

_Bitchtoria is getting soft.  
I know, it's a tragedy._

"It's my daughter's _wedding _day." Victoria defended as she pulled her daughter in for a hug, "I'm allowed to be as emotional as I want, and I would be honoured to give you away, Brooke."

The fashion icon grinned, "I love you."

"I love you too," Victoria assured as she pulled away from her daughter, smiling at her brightly. "But, just so you know, I would never truly be able to give you away – not now that I finally have you. I love you far too much for that, so the rest of the world is just going to have to learn how to share." She grinned before she pulled her daughter in for another hug, murmuring into her ear, "Now let's go get you married."

**-x-**

Nathan grinned, "a few more minutes, man, and you become Mr. Brooke Davis."

His friend glanced over at him with raised eyebrows.

"What? Are you _really _going to try and tell me that Brooke doesn't wear the pants in your relationship?"

"Shut up," the groom ordered lightly as the music began to play, his face breaking out into a grin as he waited for his bride to come into view. Jamie and Madison were the first two to head down the aisle, opting for walking alongside each other as Madison threw white rose petals all over the place, a bright smile on her face as she moved over to stand beside Jamie once they reached the alter. Everyone in the audience cooed over the two of them, knowing that it was than obvious that the two friends had a crush on each other – something that'd had the fashion icon squealing in excitement when she found out.

"Wow," Nathan whispered when he said his wife start up the aisle, "the Maid of Honour is hot."

He rolled his eyes at the athlete's words, holding his breath in anticipation when the redhead made her way towards him, taking her place by Haley's side as everyone waited for the bride to make her entrance. His heart soared at the sight of her, his lips lifting up into a bright grin when he saw her arm linked through her mother's. When Victoria had rushed into their room, cursing her ex-husband to the ground for opting to _not _attend their daughter's wedding, it had taken all of his self-control to stop himself from rushing to Brooke's side to comfort her because he knew how much it had meant to her. Her mother had smiled at him though, shaking her head before claiming that she would tell her daughter, and now seeing the two of them walk down the aisle together – he couldn't help but think it was perfect.

Victoria had done everything in her power to build her relationship with her daughter.

He pushed that thought from his mind as he finally took in her appearance. Her dark brown hair had been curled, falling past her shoulders in loose curls while he bang was pinned to her side, and her signature red lips were lifted up into a smile as she looked up at him. She looked amazing and, as she gazed at him with nothing but pure love in her eyes, he swore that he fell in love with her all over again. He couldn't wait to call her his _wife, _because there was nothing he wanted more in the world than to start the rest of his life with her. Falling in love with her had been the easiest thing he had ever done.

_Falling in love is the easiest thing you're ever gonna do…_

"Hey, handsome, you clean up nicely." Her raspy voice whispered as she reached the front of the church, turning her head to the side so she could kiss her mother's cheeks before she walked up to her spot beside him. Brooke offered him a grin before she handed her bouquet of daises to the former tutor, sending her two friends a wink before she looked back at her soon-to-be husband – she didn't have to look into their eyes to see their support. She was ready for this; she had been for a while.

"You don't need me to tell you that you look beautiful." Her groom whispered as he reached out for her hand, holding it tightly in his as he squeezed it lovingly, his smile only widening when he felt her squeeze his back.

Brooke breathed out slowly as she listened to the vicar request that everyone be seated, her heart pounding in her chest when he started the introduction of the bride and groom, a bright smile on his face as he told them why they were there that day – there were all there to join the couple in holy matrimony. She felt her dimples poke out in her cheeks at the thought of that, focussing on the man before her as one thought continued to drift across her mind, she was getting _married_. She knew that that thought had been on her mind the whole day, but she still couldn't believe that her wedding day was finally there.

"The bride and groom have both prepared their own vows," the vicar said suddenly, pulling the fashion icon from her thoughts as he continued to speak, "Clayton, if you would like to proceed?"

Clay Evans – the guy who had unexpectedly appeared in her life, the guy who had a boyish grin that could cause her to melt within mere seconds, and the guy who she loved more than life herself. When the two of them had met, it had never crossed her mind that she would end up falling in love with him, nor had she ever expected that the two of them would end up getting married. Flirty banter had always been a part of their friendship, a friendship that had ended up growing into love without her ever realising it, and she truly did love him. He was a part of her, another part of herself that she had been missing without even realising it.

"Dimples," Clay began with his boyish grin etched into his face, "I have loved you since the moment that you pushed me into the pool. Falling in love with you is the easiest thing that I have ever done in my life because there is nothing about you that I don't love – I love your smile, I love the way you put our family before everything else in your life, and I love how you managed to appear in my life when I needed you the most. You taught me how to truly live; what the most important things are in life, and more importantly – you gave me a family. So today I vow to love you for always; I promise to always fight fair whenever we get into an argument, I promise to always make up, I vow to be there for you every day for the rest of my life, I vow to never ever let you go, and I vow to be the best husband to you and to be the best father I can be too however many children we end up having. I promise you this because, you are the only girl I could ever spend my life with, Brooke Davis – and I love you. And, you _do _look beautiful by the way."

… _It's the most exciting thing, the most powerful thing._

"You jerk," Brooke mumbled under her breath as tears swelled up in her eyes, "you promised you wouldn't make me cry!"

Everyone chuckled.

The vicar looked over at her, "Brooke?"

"Clay," she breathed out as he lifted his hand to wipe away her tears with his thumb, "someone once told me that there would come a day where I would open my heart to someone without even knowing it – and you were my someone. Before I met you, I thought my world had everything I needed in order for me to be happy. I had my friends, and my family, and my Sam, but then you walked into my life everything changed. I realised how empty my world truly was without you in it and my life whole life was incapable of making me happy without you there to share it with me. You taught me how to trust and you taught me how to _truly _fall in love. I love everything about you; I love how you challenge me in ways that no one ever has, I love the way you look at me like no one ever has, and I love the way that you love me like no one ever has. So today I too vow to love you for always, because I cannot live a life without you in it."

_That's why falling __**out **__of love hurts like hell, but falling in love… there's nothing better._

Clay gazed at her for several moments before he looked to the vicar, a serious expression on his face, "can I kiss her yet?"

"Clayton and Brooke," the vicar began instead once the laughter had died down, his eyes drifting over to the groom with a bright smile on his face, "you came here today to exchange these vows. Clayton, do you take Brooke to be thy wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worst; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"Hell yeah," the agent answered happily, only wince slightly as he gazed up at the ceiling, "Sorry."

Brooke bit down on her lip to keep from chuckling.

Clay grinned back at her when he saw her smile, winking at her as he answered, "I do."

"Brooke," the vicar continued as he looked over at the bride, "do you take Clayton to be thy wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worst; for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Brooke nodded her head as raspy laughter fell from her lips, pure happiness on her face as she answered, "Yes I do."

_It's the best it ever gets._

"The rings please?"

Brooke breathed out as she turned around, holding her palm out to the former tutor, smiling brightly when the simple wedding band was placed in her hand.

"Remember," Nathan mumbled as he handed his agent the ring, "if you ever hurt her, they won't find the body."

Clay nodded with a large grin, "thanks, man."

He exhaled deeply as he turned around to face the fashion icon once again.

"Brooke, this ring symbolizes my desire for you to be my wife from this day forward." He said simply as he slid the ring onto her finger.

She nodded her head as she held his hand firmly, sliding own ring onto his finger. "Clay, this ring symbolizes my desire for you to be my husband from this day forward."

"And by the powers vested in me by God," the vicar finished, "I now pronounce you man and wife – Clayton, you may now kiss your bride."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Dimples." Clay smiled as he lifted his hand to caress her check, the other one wrapping around her waist before he brought his lips crashing down against hers. He could faintly hear the sound of applause as the two of them took part in a dance that they had long ago perfected, the agent smiling into the kiss as he felt his _wife _wrap her arms around his neck. Somehow it didn't compare to any of the kisses that the two of them had shared in the past, ones that had been filled love and desire all at the same time, because the kiss they were sharing them was filled with pure love as well as a promise of forever.

**-x-**

Nathan grinned over at the fashion icon, watching as she was hugged by her mother once again.

"She really deserves this," Haley grinned as she walked up to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist as she followed his gaze. She didn't feel the need to elaborate on her statement though, knowing that the athlete knew what she was talking about. After everything that she had been through, Brooke deserved to have all of her dreams come true; having her dream career, her own family, and a loving husband that the former tutor _knew _she could trust not to break her friend's heart. Seeing the couple happy and in love gave Haley hope that everyone would someday find their happy end – her smile widening when she finally realised the hope that she had her husband had always given the former cheer-captain.

_I don't know if I can explain that but they give me hope, and I'm afraid to say it out loud because maybe if life finds out it'll try to beat it out of them and that would be a shame. Because we all could use a little hope, you know? That feeling that everything is gonna be okay._

Her husband nodded, "everyone deserves this, Hales."

They watched happily as the couple moved to stand in front of their limo, their arms wrapped around each other while Quinn continued to take a million pictures of them, only for the number of flashes to increase when the newlyweds took baby Lydia from her grandmother. Clay was holding the baby in his arms, bouncing her up and down to calm her down after her cries had sounded through the air, the agent managed to calm her down before Haley rushed over to her daughter. Instead, the former tutor continued to watch the couple with a small smile etched into her face when the brunette leaned over to smother her goddaughter with kisses while her husband continued to hold her – making faces at Lydia before leaning over to kiss his new wife on the lips.

Clay and Brooke were a couple that she never would have envisioned upon meeting the agent, but now the former tutor had no idea how she had missed just how perfect the two of them were for each other. Both of them were bubbly, cocky people who loved nothing more than to have a good time, but when it came down to it they were always there for their friends and family. The two of them were practically mirror images of each other in most ways, but not to the point that their relationship was boring and predictable. That was what people loved about them the most.

It made her wince when she realised when she had been referring to Peyton and Lucas when she thought of a boring couple who were mere images of each other.

"I know that the bride is always supposed to be the most beautiful since it's _her _day, but you definitely gave Brooke a run for her money." Nathan grinned down at his wife, placing a sweet kiss on her lips before he looked at her, his lips pursed together in deep thought as he looked at her seriously. "Have I told you how sexy you look today?"

"Not yet," his wife teased, "but you would if you know what's good for ya."

"Well then, you look very, _very _sexy today."

"Oh god, my eyes! It's so _nauseating _watching the two of you," Rachel groaned as she walked over to the couple, her boyfriend's arm wrapped securely around her waist as she grinned at the two of them. Honestly she loved the couple who had been crazy enough to go marriage, baby, graduation – but that didn't mean that she couldn't taunt them for it.

Haley scowled, "then don't watch!"

"Why would I want to watch?"

"Jealous?"

"Please! Like I'm jealous of your boring married sex life!"

"Play nice, baby." Her boyfriend teased as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his hot breath causing shivers to run through her body, her mind immediately wondering if it _would _be possible for the two of them to run off and have slutty wedding sex. Instead though, she glanced up at him with a somewhat annoyed expression, her lips pulling down into a pout – one that he instantly leaned down to kiss sweetly. Despite how the gesture made her heart swell, she scowled up at him.

_If this was a movie, you'd kiss me right now._

"If you think for _one minute _that your illegal grin is going to work on _me_," Rachel began to threaten, her words being cut off as he sent his lips crashing down on hers. Butterflies formed in the pit of her stomach as she moaned, sinking into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around in his neck, damning him because of how well he knew her. The truth was, she _couldn't _resist him when he sent her a flash of his illegal grin, nor did she want to. He was the sweetest guy she had ever met, yet he wasn't a complete pushover like a lot of the sweet guys were – he was everything she had ever wanted in a boyfriend.

She loved him.

_No. I'd say "I love you" and then I'd kiss you… I love you._

"You are _so _lucky I love you, Julian Baker." She said seriously when he pulled his lips away from hers before she leaned in to give a quick kiss, faintly aware of how Haley was mocking her earlier words, exclaiming – _"oh my eyes! You two are so nauseating!"_

Julian nodded his head, "I know."

The two of them had formed a friendship based on banter over his many visits to Tree Hill, only for his mind to be plagued by the thought of her the whole nine months he had been in New Zealand. They had been on opposite sides of the world but, through the use of text messages and numerous phone calls, the two of them had become close and he had fallen for her – which was why he had asked her out on a date shortly after returning to the small town. Rachel Gatina intrigued him, and he loved trying to figure her out because one never knew how to respond. He loved her sarcastic wit and he loved her for who she was, something that made her a better person without the redhead even realising it.

That was why, when he had asked her to move in with him, he had known that she would say yes before he had even asked.

He was just glad that their schedules worked out so well around each other. Whenever he had to fly around the world filming the movie, Rachel would follow him since she didn't have a job that tied her down, opting for flying home whenever she was needed for a photo-shoot or whenever the producer had time off. They just had one rule – when a film was finished, they returned to Tree Hill to spend time with their friends and family, staying in the beach house that the two of them had bought together a little over six months ago. It was their permanent residence – their home.

**-x-**

Haley grinned as she walked up to pick up the microphone

Thus far the whole reception had gone off without a hitch. Laughter had been bouncing off the walls the entire night, and it warmed the former tutor to see all of her friends having fun – even the two blondes seemed to be enjoying themselves by catching up with all of their friends, something that the two of them had been doing a lot of over the past two weeks, all the while promising to stay in contact a little bit better once they left again. They had also promised to be home for Christmas, and nothing could have made Haley happier – all she wanted was for all of her friends to be happy, and they all seemed to be at their happiest when they were together. All of their bonds weren't fixed, and she knew that there were some that would never _be _fixed, but that wasn't the most important part to her.

She just wanted them all to love Tree Hill the way that she did; she wanted them to realise that, no matter what, the small town was their home.

It was now time for her speech though, something that she had rehearsed several times in her head before she finally walked up to the microphone. There were so many things that she wanted to tell her best friend on her wedding day, so many things that she wanted to share with the fashion icon that meant so much to her, but she also knew that she would take up the whole night if she were to list all of the reasons that she loved Brooke so much. And that night wasn't about mourning the past; it was about looking forward to a bright future that was sure to be filled with much happiness. Not _only _for the newlyweds, but also for all of the members that helped to make up their dysfunctional family, because that's what they all were – a _family_. There would always be moments when they would act without thinking, unintentionally hurting another with their words or actions, but at the end of the day none of it really mattered because they were a strong, unbreakable family.

She cleared her throat, winking at the fashion icon before she lifted the microphone up to her lips, speaking confidently as the words slowly fell from her lips. "Well, when I first met Brooke Davis, she had no idea who I was even though we had gone to school since kindergarten – but of course everyone knew who she was, she was the most popular girl in school. She was our head cheerleader, the founder of DW _not _I, and for many she was a good friend. She was annoyingly pretty – still is," Haley teased, narrowing her eyes playfully over at the beaming brunette. "But what a lot people don't realise is the fact that her beauty goes past what people see on the outside – it's the beauty that she has on the inside that is truly amazing."

Brooke grinned as she leaned her head against Clay's shoulder, her hazel orbs never leaving the former tutor, her eyebrow kinking when she saw the smirk that had engraved itself into Haley's face – that could _not _be good.

"And you know, I remember the first time that I ever hunt out with Brooke. We hung out all night… oh! But she didn't really like my _name_," She continued with a grin, laughter falling from her lips when she saw the tortured artist glance over at the bride with a large smirk on her face. Haley shook her head in amusement, "so she decided to give me a name that she did like, which ended up being… _Brooke_."

_What's your name again?_

_Haley._

_Yeah, I don't like that name, let's call you… Brooke._

The entire room broke out into laughter while the brunette pouted, nodding her head slowly when her husband turned to give her a questioning look.

"Though we had hung out in the past, memories that include a _memorable _sleepover that I'm not even going to talk about because what she did still makes me cringe – and don't give me that look, Brooke, you know what I'm talking about." Haley scowled, remembering how the brunette had had sex in _her _bed. "It wasn't until a year later that we really became friends. Over half of our school's population hated me, but she still asked me to be her roommate, and it was then that I saw the real Brooke Davis that so many of my friends had told me about. I got a glimpse of the girl that she kept to herself, a piece that she kept hidden and only revealed to those that she loved, and what I saw was a girl with the biggest heart that I have ever known a person to have. So we became friends, and now she's my best friend."

"_You bitch_,_" _Brooke mouthed to her Maid of Honour, brushing away her tears for the millionth time that day – not that they bothered her, they were all tears of joy.

"The two of us have been through so much over the years, and our friendship is still growing, and that's why I know that the love and friendship that you share with Clay will continue to grow." Haley beamed, watching as the couple looked into each other's eyes, noting but pure love and devotion being shared between them. She almost hated to keep speaking, to interrupt their moment, but she had to finish her speech so her own husband could give his. She breathed out, "it's a bond that will continue to grow every day for the rest of your lives… and I am _so _happy that I get to be a part of that. So, here is to Clay and Brooke – to their love for each other, and to many years of happiness."

Haley winked at her best friend before she handed the microphone over to her husband, heading back over to her table to pull the fashion icon in for a hug before they focused all of their attention on the athlete.

"As a married man, I'm not used to speaking without interruption so my best man speech will be a short one – and Clay? The sooner you get used to the fact, the happier your marriage will be." Nathan chuckled, the whole room breaking out into laughter as he winked at his wife when she arched an eyebrow, his signature smirk etching into his face. Once the laughter died down, he exhaled slowly and locked gazes with his best friend. "Clay was merely my agent when I met him, someone that I trusted with my career, but as time passed, he became my best friend and I learned to trust him with the most important thing in my life – my family."

Haley leaned over to nudge the fashion icon, whispering something in her ear that made Brooke crack up laughing before she winked at the former tutor.

Something told the athlete that he didn't _want _to know what his wife had said.

"And I can't think of two people who deserve this more than the couple you see before you, but I think we all know that true love is sometimes hard to find, sometimes you think you have true love only for it to fall apart – and I know that both Clay and Brooke learned that the hard way at one point in their life, but neither of them gave up the hope that they would find that true love and that's what brought the two of them here today; the fact that they never gave up hope. The two of them met and, at some point among their flirty banter, they fell in love and did something that was truly amazing – they gave their hearts to each other unconditionally. An action that sounds so simple when stated like that but, in reality, loving someone and having the courage to let them love you back is the bravest thing that a person can ever do. But the two of them have nothing to worry about, because I have seen both of their hearts and I know that they're the same – what's _inside _them is the same. Now, I could stand in front of you and go on and on about how perfect these two are for each other, but I think the fact that the two of them have made it this far speaks for itself."

Clay and Brooke grinned, holding each other's hand tightly as they listened to his heartfelt words – something the two of them would surely mock him for later.

"So here is to Clay and to Brooke," Nathan finished as he held up his champagne glass, "and to unconditional love – something that the two of them were lucky enough to find in each other."

**-x-**

Julian pursed his lips together in thought, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched the happy couple dance together. Her head rested on his chest while he swayed them back and forth to the music, his chin resting on her head as a loving smile etched into his features. She too had the same smile strewn across her face, but the producer knew that there was no way that they could see each other's smiles – not by the way they were holding each other, but that didn't really matter to the producer. He would admit that he had found it a little odd when the two of them had first got together, not knowing in his heart how he felt about the two of them becoming a couple, but with time he had learned to accept it. Now he even supported the two of them, no matter how weird or creepy he found it on occasion.

"I'm not the only one who finds this a _little _creepy, right?"

Julian laughed, "No."

"Thank God," Brooke breathed out in relief as she walked up to stand beside the producer, wrapping her arm around his waist, his arm draping across her shoulder as the two of them glanced out at the dancing couple. Almost instantly she saw the large grin that had etched into her mother's face, and it warmed the fashion icon's heart because she knew that it was because of love that it was there – it was because of the love that she had found with Paul Norris. Raspy laughter fell from her lips when she remembered how hard the two of them had tried their relationship in the beginning, but their children had immediately known that something was up. Both had been smiling a lot more and the two of them had always done their best to avoid each other when they were in the same room, only for their secret to come out when both Brooke and Julian found the two of them making out in the backroom of the boutique. Shock had etched itself into each of their faces before the fashion icon had let out a squeal of _"oh my god, I am blind! Mom, please do up another button – the MILF look is _so _not a good look for you" _while Julian just watched in shock.

His father had released a loud, echoing laughter and the amount of happiness his expression had held had shocked the young producer.

"Because I don't know what I find creepier – the fact that our parents are now acting like parents, the face that they're a couple, or the fact that their happy." Brooke continued with a thoughtful expression on her face, shaking her head in amusement when she saw Paul dip her mother, causing the older brunette to let out a squeal of surprise before she was pulled back up in his arms, her lips immediately attaching to his. The fashion icon shuddered – now _that _was an image that would surely stay with her for the rest of her life. Her mother had a lover; a _boyfriend_ and it scared the hell out of her a bit, even though she and the producer at her side had seen it coming.

_Get this; I think my mom and your dad have become lovers._

_We did kind of see this coming._

"You know, if the two of them end up getting married," Julian began, looking down at her with his illegal grin etched into his face. "Then _technically _you'll be my sister."

"That's disturbing, we've _slept _together." She whispered harshly, her eyes narrowing while her mouth formed a straight line.

He chuckled as he eyed her carefully, "so your mom isn't allowed to date someone if you've slept with their son? Dear god, Vicky will never find someone!"

Brooke scowled up at him, punching him in the stomach, her dimples coming into view when she saw him wince. "I'd watch yourself if I were you, and I wouldn't let her catch you calling her 'Vicky' – otherwise your future mommy won't be very happy with you."

"You know, I think it'd be kind of great if the two of them ended up together." Julian said after a moment, his brown orbs drifting back to the couple, his lips lifting up into a small smile. "The two of them seem happy, and you'll be my sister – which will make me Sam's awesome uncle who can spoil her constantly without getting into trouble with you."

"Which means Rachel will be sister-in-law when the two of you get married," Brooke said finally, her eyes lighting up in excitement when the thought crossed her mind. Almost instantly she pulled away from him, slapping his arm happily, laughing when he began to whine about the abuse she was subjecting him to, "oh shut up you big baby! Do you realise how perfect this set-up is?"

Julian rolled his eyes at how quickly the brunette had changed her opinion of their parents dating each other, his brown orbs slowly drifting over to where his girlfriend was dancing with Jamie. Her lips were lifted up into a large smile as the young Scott beamed up at her, her tongue sticking out in protest when she heard the former tutor tease the two of them – saying something catty to the redhead. For once though, the model simply brushed off the taunt and went about crouching down so that her dance partner could twirl her. The sight alone had a smile engraving its way into his face as he watched the scene, wondering were a camera crew was when he needed them. There was no way in the world that reality television was better than what was taking place before his eyes – and he knew that for a fact, his girl _always _made him watch stupid life-time shows with her.

"I could have any girl I want in this place," he growls, his eyes traveling over her body again, unable to resist, he lets her chin go to slide his hand down her cheek then her neck until it slinks down her back. She shivers lustfully and closes her eyes to hold back a moan when his fingers began to trickle down to the bottom of her dress in order to slither upward towards the spot he wants to claim most. Her eyes meet his and the look she gives him stops his hand from wandering further north. "And yet here you are, feeling me up in front of complete strangers," she scowls and slaps his hand away. When he doesn't make a move to apologize or seduce her further, she shakes her head with a bitter laugh and brushes past him towards the exit. She throws her ticket down at the coat check and shoves her arm into her long black pea coat, shrugging into it and snatching her purse from the woman behind the counter without so much as a thank you.

"You remember what you said to me that day in my boutique," Brooke began as the two of them slowly began to walk towards the bar to get a drink, "the day that you tried to convince me to do the costumes for Ravens?"

He frowned, "I remember you calling me a pervert."

"You said that the pris and the stoner ended up together," the fashion icon continued with an eye roll, grinning up at him when he glanced down at her in confusion. "And you know what? Even though you were talking about the wrong couple when you said them, those words ended up being true." Brooke nodded, gesturing to the redhead before she winked up at the producer, "you and Rachel ended up together – so the pris and the stoner _definitely _found their way to each other in the end."

_Ah, The Breakfast Club! Let me guess – you were the pris._

_Guess that makes you the stoner?_

_Uh if you say so, they end up together._

Julian smiled as he leaned against the bar, "wait 'til I tell Rach that you think she's a pris."

Brooke blinked at him in mock confusion, holding a hand to her heart as she shook her head, her chocolate curls falling into her face. "No, no – Rachel is the _stoner_ in this equation."

He opened his mouth to throw some retort her way, refusing to let her get away with calling him a pris, only for all of his words to die on his lips when he heard a thump behind the bar. His lips pulled down into a frown when he noted that the bartender was missing. Julian turned his head and was met with a confused expression that had etched into the fashion icon's face, her eyebrow kinked as the two of them nodded to each other, leaning over the bar to see what the hell was going on. Laughter fell from both of their lips when they saw the couple sitting together behind the bar, in the middle of a heated make-out session, completely oblivious to the two people who were gazing down at them with amused smirks.

"If the two of you are planning on having the slutty wedding sex," Brooke grinned, her laughter almost starting up again when the two of them jumped away from each other, "then I suggest you _don't _do it behind the bar where Nathan would probably find you."

She shook her head when Quinn and Skills looked at the two of each other in thought – smirks etching into their face as they linked hands and climbed to their feet. Now, the two of _them _had been a couple that no one expected. The two of them had nothing in common, yet they seemed to fall together naturally, regardless of how different the two of them really were. Everyone was more than happy for the two of them, knowing that the two of them had had a hard time holding onto love since their prior relationship had fallen apart, and they also knew that Nathan was happy for the two of them as well. Whenever he thought someone wasn't looking, the athlete would glance over at the two of them with a soft smile etched into his face – but he refused to say that the two of them dating wasn't awkward, and the fashion icon couldn't really blame him for that. Skills had once been in a relationship with Nathan's _mother _– a fact that still creeped out the athlete, as well as all of his friends when they truly thought of it – and now he had moved on to having a relationship with Nathan's sister-in-law.

"Thanks for the heads' up, baby girl." Skills said, practically dragging his girlfriend towards the first dark corner they could find, winking back at the fashion icon. "By the way, have I ever told you how sexy you look in white, B _Evans_?"

Brooke snorted in laughter, shaking her head at her friend before she looked up at Julian, "ten bucks says that Nathan is the one to walk in on them."

**-x-**

"Brooke Davis, you are probably the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

Red lips lifted up into a dimpled grin as she turned around, grinning madly at the older brunette who she had always loved like a mother. Karen Roe had been the woman that she had learned so much from during her teenager years. She had been the one that taught the fashion icon all she knew about strength and believing in all of the good that the world held, even when life gave you every reason not to. And, even though she now had her _birth _mother to turn to when she was in need of some motherly advice or a shoulder to lean on, there was no way that Brooke would ever be able to deny that Karen had been the first mother that she had ever had.

"Hey, Karen!" Brooke grinned as she pulled the other woman in for a hug, enjoying the way that the older woman held her firmly in her arms. In that one embrace the fashion icon felt all of the emotions that one of Karen's hugs had always been able to give her – a feeling of being loved and cared for, as well as the undeniable pride that the older brunette felt for her. She sighed as she sunk into the hug, her smile never leaving her face when she heard Karen murmur into her ear, telling the fashion icon just how proud she was. Once again, the dimpled woman felt tears form in her eyes.

All of a sudden the fashion icon heard the tell-tale of someone sniffling, confusion embedding itself into her face as she pulled away from the former café owner, her eyes going wide when she saw Karen wiping away several tears – something that was not very common for Karen. Normally she would put up a strong façade of being calm and collected, opting to only release the proof of her sadness when she was on her own, and Brooke could not remember the last time she had seen the mother of two cry.

"Karen," she began as her lips pulled down into a pout, tears filling her own eyes as she looked at the other brunette. "Are you crying?"

_Karen, are you crying?_

_No, no… I was, yeah._

"Yeah, I was." Karen nodded her head, placing a comforting hand on the bride's shoulders as she thought back to the last time she had seen the fashion icon. It had been at Lucas' wedding to the tortured artist, and it warmed Karen's heart to see how far the former cheer-captain had come since then. Back then she had seen the sadness that Brooke tried to keep hidden behind her hazel orbs and it had broken her heart to know that her son had been one of the many people to break the heart of the girl she had once known – the girl who had been gabby, a little nutty, all the while bringing a smile to everyone's face as she bounced into the room.

Over the past week though, she had seen just how much progress that Brooke had made over the two years. It seemed as though the younger brunette had taken her words to heart and had gone about healing herself and, once her heart had been healed, the fashion icon had opened it up to all of the people in her life. It hadn't _only _been opened up to love and the man who had managed to make her fall in love with him, it had also been opened up to all of the friends that Brooke had in her life. All of the bonds that she held with the people in her life had grown and, though it had shocked the hell out of the older brunette, Karen was more than happy that Brooke had been able to form a relationship with her mother.

She had always known that Brooke had worked so hard was to earn the love and support of her mother.

"I'm just… I am _so _proud of the woman that you became, Brooke Davis." Karen finished finally, a watery smile etched into her face when she saw the fashion icon open her mouth, her head instantly shaking to silence Brooke. "I know that you're married know and you're technically no longer a Davis – but to _me_, you'll always be Brooke Davis; the nutty girl that had an amazing heart and an inability to shut up for more than five seconds."

"So you're clearly trying to complement me," Brooke grinned.

"I love you, Brooke." Karen said simply, pulling the woman in for another hug, "and to me it doesn't matter to me that you and your mother are close now, nor does it matter to me that I now have Lily." She pulled away and cupped the fashion icon's cheeks, "to _me_, you will always be my first daughter, and nothing is ever going to change that."

Brooke smiled.

"Can I interrupt?"

The two brunettes pulled away from each other, their eyes resting on the brooder that was looking at the two of them with a slight smile on his face, having always known how close his mother was to Brooke. The two of them possessed a bond that he knew no one else would ever be able to have with the founder of Karen's Café – it was a bond that not even Lindsay had been able to compete with, one that not even the tortured artist had ever been able to compete with.

Karen eyed the two of them carefully before nodding, placing one more kiss on the fashion icon's cheek before she walked away, pointing a finger at her son in warning.

The message was clear – _make her cry, and you'll have me to deal with, Lucas Eugene Scott._

Lucas sighed slightly in annoyance, nodding slightly before he walked up to his ex-girlfriend, holding out his hand to her. "Dance with me," he murmured softly, grinning slightly when the fashion icon rolled her eyes upwards before she allowed for him to lead her out to the middle of the dance floor. His hands rested on her hips and she draped her arms around his neck, smiling up at him with sparkling hazel orbs – remembering the last time that the two of them had danced together at a wedding, it being the night that their relationship had ended for good. It was still hard to believe how much had changed and, though there was a small twinge of pain in her heart when she thought about it, it was nowhere near as severe as it had once been. The two of them had moved on and, with time, the pain had dulled. But that didn't mean they would ever forget – you _never _forgot your first love.

"Are you happy, Brooke?" His husky voice asked honestly as the two of them continued to sway to the music, his blue orbs locking onto her hazel orbs, instantly having his answer when her dimples came into view. Her gaze drifted over to where her new husband was dancing with Sam, the two of them laughing happily as they continued to do a choreographed dance that included many spins and drops, seemingly oblivious to the fact that half of the guests were looking at them with amused grins while they chuckled. The two of them seemed happy and, as much as it had killed the blonde a week ago, there was no way for him to deny that Clay Evans was a part of the family.

Clay had filled the void that he had left in more ways than he had ever thought possible.

"Yeah, I am." Brooke answered softly, smiling at the two goofs for a moment longer before she looked up at the brooder, a thoughtful frown pulling at her lips as her thoughts took over her mind. "It just seems like… once you get there – to that one moment that you've spent over half of your life waiting for – it's almost as if nothing else matters, you know? Suddenly it's like all of the trivial things that you had to go through, all of the waiting and all of the heartbreak that it took you to get to that moment… none of it matters anymore because you're just… _happy_."

"Yeah…" he answered softly as he mulled over her words, knowing them to be true. None of the pain from the past mattered anymore because they had all moved on with their lives and, regardless if it was how they had wanted the story to play out or not, it was how things were now and Lucas nodded his head – suddenly all of the trivial things didn't matter. Because after everything that they had all gone through together, they had all found their way to a happy ending and that was the only thing that mattered. They were happy.

Brooke pursed her lips together, taking in his broody expression before she sighed softly, gaining his attention before she looked up at him with glimmering hazel orbs. "Are _you_ happy, Luke?" She questioned honestly.

Surprise etched his face, "what?"

"Your life with Peyton and Anna," Brooke elaborated as she glanced over to where the artist was happily sitting down talking to Mia, her daughter slumped against her side while she slept peacefully. The sight made the fashion icon grin slightly before she looked back up at the blonde she was dancing with, her eyebrow kinked. "The life that the two of you built together, are you _happy_?"

"Yeah, Anna… _wow_." Lucas breathed out as he looked over at his own family, shaking his head as he thought about how quickly his daughter was growing up. "She's my whole world and there have been times over the past two years when she's been the only thing to keep me together," he admitted before his eyes flicked over to his wife, smiling slightly when he thought about the progress the two of them had made. "And Peyton and I have gotten better too, I mean, it took us a while but got past all of it. We haven't forgotten about all of it, but it's like we've been able to move on and make the best out of everything."

"Ah," Brooke mocked lightly, nodding her head in understand while her dimples poked out in her cheeks once again, revealing the grin that he had always loved, "The result of being a mature, fully functioning adult."

"Yeah," he nodded before he looked at her seriously, "so I would say that I'm a happy man."

"That's good – that's all I've ever wanted for you, for Peyton." Brooke said honestly as the two of them continued to twirl around the room, winking over at her husband when she caught his gaze, raspy laughter falling from her lips as she looked up at the brooder once more. "I just wanted you two to be happy."

"I am, and I'm happy for you." Lucas said as the two of them stopped dancing, his blue orbs boring into her hazel eyes as he grinned down at her. "But you know that I will always love you, right Brooke?"

Brooke nodded, "and I'll always love you, Luke."

_I love you Lucas, and I probably always will._

She breathed out, "but I'm not _in _love with you anymore."

**-x-**

She stared down at the wedding band that now rested on her left hand, a dimpled grin tugging at her lips when she thought of everything it took for her to get to that point. Her earlier words to the brooder had been right; suddenly all of the heartache and tears she had cried was the furthest thing from her mind, because none of it mattered anymore. It had taken her a long time, but the love she shared with Clay was the sort of love she had always wanted. It wasn't filled with angst-filled drama and it wasn't overly clichéd like the love that existed between her beloved Naley, instead it was just love; pure and simple true love.

_In the end, the love between the princess and the boy was undeniable and true._

That was what she loved the most about them.

Their love was simple, he loved her and she loved him. There was no reason or rhyme to why she loved him, no deep bond that the two of them shared nor was their some cliché that told them that they were meant to be, it all just came down to the fact that she loved him. She loved how she could just be herself around him, clad in one of his tee-shirts and no make-up without having to worry about how she looked. She loved the fact that he sang along with all of music and happily watched cheesy John Hughes movies with her. She loved how he knew what she was thinking and feeling with one simple glance, as though he could see the real her, only for his boyish grin to wipe all conscious thoughts from her mind mere seconds later. But, more than anything, she loved the fact that their love would survive anything thrown at them.

_And over time, that love would see them through anything._

She had finally found her always and forever. The love that she had been dreaming about ever since she had been four years old, ever since she had ran to her mother declaring that someday she would wear a veil like the one she had found in their front yard, had finally found its way to her. Clayton Evans was the one that she was going to spend the rest of her life with, someday sitting down with him and all of their friends while they watched their own children run around, building bonds and finding love just as strong as what they had found.

"Are we _sure _that leaving Sam with your mother for two weeks is a good idea?" Clay questioned playfully, glancing over at her with his boyish grin etched into his face before his blue orbs returned to the road in front of him, his mind instantly thinking about the two _stress free _weeks that the two of them would spend on the beach. Of course, all of his friends had scoffed at that response, claiming that they were willing to bet that the couple never left their suite – something he hadn't offered any response to.

"My mom doesn't have her for the full two weeks," Brooke commented as she grinned over at him, "Rachel and Julian are going to some film thingie next week so she's going with them."

He frowned, "I don't know who's going to corrupt her more."

She grinned and closed her eyes, resting her head against her headrest as she thought about how weird it would be to spend two weeks alone with just her husband. The closest the two of them had ever gotten to a vacation _alone _had been the time that Naley had taken the plucky teenager for the weekend so they could leave town and spend some alone time together. Yet the best vacation that came to the brunette's mind was when the producer had invited all of them up to Utah the year before, all of them spending Christmas together – making the holiday everything that it was supposed to be; a time shared with family and friends.

_Magical things happened to them, things they couldn't explain, much like love itself._

All of her thoughts disappeared from her mind as her phone beeped, signalling a text, causing the fashion icon to groan as she sat up. "Not even at the airport and they're already checking up," she grumbled as she searched through her clutch for her cell phone, kinking her eyebrow as she locked gazes with Clay. "Remind me to turn this off before we get to the plan – no cell phones for two weeks."

Her lips tilted up into a grin when he nodded his head eagerly, her hazel orbs rolling in amusement before she flipped her phone open – her smile widening when she realised that the text message had been from Lindsay. The two of them met up whenever they were both in New York, also exchanging e-mails in between visits, and a little over four months ago the fashion icon had designed another wedding dress for the editor. Lindsay had married some guy that she had met at her gym, and there hadn't been any doubt in her voice as she said "I do" – two words that she had been unable to say to the brooder, having known then that they would never work out, not with the tortured artist in the picture.

_Sorry, I couldn't be there today Brooke._

_Congratulations to the both of you_

_Lots of love, Lindsay_

Brooke grinned at the message, quickly texting back with a promise of getting together soon to talk over coffee, and then she quickly turned off her cell phone before she placed it back into her purse.

_And, like most fairy tales, the princess and the boy lived happily ever after._

She glanced over at the driver's seat, slipping her feet out of her heels before she moved closer to Clay so she could rest her head against his shoulder. He instantly lifted his arm up, draping it across her shoulder as he continued to hum along with the song on the radio, her heart swelling in his chest when she felt him tighten his hold on her. Within his embrace she felt warm and loved for, and she knew that there was no one else in the world that she would rather be with than him. Maybe in another life she would have done one thing differently and everything would have changed but, as she had told the brooder once, the what ifs would drive you crazy. All that mattered to her was the fact that she _loved _Clay and she was going to spend the rest of her life with him, living happily ever after – for the moment that he had walked into her life would always be the one that she would point to, saying that _that _was the moment that everything changed.

"Clay," she breathed out sleepily, cuddling into him a little closer, "I love you."

Laughter spilled from his lips as he leaned down to kiss her forehead, his eyes returning to the road while his signature boyish grin engraved his face, "I love you too, Dimples."

Brooke smiled.

_THE END _


End file.
